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Donald Trump has become the first US President to choose a Muslim-majority nation as his first foreign destination upon taking office.
He arrived in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh on Saturday evening, where he promptly spruiked a series of agreements with the nation.
Most significant was the sale of nearly $US110 billion — that's about $147 billion — worth of military equipment to Saudi Arabia that is effective immediately.
What does this military deal include?
It's fairly comprehensive — it includes tanks, combat ships and missile defence systems, as well as radar, communications and cybersecurity technology.
The New York Times is also reporting that the deal includes the sale of precision-guided munitions, which the Obama administration had stopped because it was worried they would be used to bomb civilians in Yemen.
The United States is Saudi Arabia's main military supplier.
What's the aim of this?
Beyond the economic significance of the military deal — "jobs, jobs, jobs", in the words of the US President — Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said it would send a "strong message to our common enemies".
He's largely talking about Iran, which has backed the opposite sides to America and Saudi Arabia in Syria and Yemen.
Mr Tillerson said America intends to intensify its efforts to deter Iran from engaging in Syria and Yemen, and Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said stronger US ties would allow the region to "drain the swamps from which extremism and terrorism emanates".
But there are serious human rights concerns about Saudi Arabia's actions in Yemen.
What's going on in Yemen and how is Saudi Arabia involved?
The Saudis intervened in the country in March 2015 to restore the internationally recognised government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi after he was ousted by the Houthi rebels — rebels that Saudi Arabia says are backed by Iran.
Since then, the war has claimed the lives of more than 10,000 civilians.
Rights groups say Saudi-led coalition attacks on clinics, schools, markets and factories may amount to war crimes. But Saudi Arabia has either denied the attacks or cited the presence of fighters in the targeted areas.
Last October, the Saudi-led coalition bombed a packed funeral in Yemen's capital Sanaa, killing at least 140 people and wounding about 600. The coalition said it had received "wrong information".
Former president Barack Obama curbed America's non-lethal support role in Yemen — which included providing intelligence to Saudi Arabia — as a result of concern about rising civilian deaths. But the Trump administration is considering reversing this stance.
Meanwhile, this is what Tom Malinowski, the state department's top human rights official during the Obama administration, said last month about the prospect of further arms sales to Saudi Arabia:
"It makes the US complicit again in Saudi actions that are causing great suffering over which we have insufficient control."
US officials have said Washington is not considering strikes on Houthi targets or deploying ground forces.
Didn't Iran just re-elect its president? How does that tie into this?
Yes, Hassan Rouhani defeated his hardliner rival Ebrahim Raisi.
"Iran's nation chose the path of interaction with the world, away from violence and extremism," he said.
Mr Tillerson responded to Mr Rouhani's re-election by saying he hoped he would use his second term in office to end Iran's ballistic missile program and its support of terrorism in the region.
Why did Mr Trump get a better reception in Saudi Arabia than Mr Obama?
King Salman bin Abdulaziz met Mr Trump at the steps of Air Force One when he arrived and spent most of the day with him at ritzy ceremonies.
It was a much warmer welcome than Mr Obama received on his last visit.
It's because Mr Obama was seen in the Arab kingdom as soft on Iran and hesitant on Syria. Saudi Arabia was particularly upset by the deal Mr Obama reached with Iran to lift sanctions in return for the curbing of Iran's nuclear program.
The warm greeting for Mr Trump came despite his past criticisms of Saudi Arabia for its treatment of gay people and women, and his election campaign promise of a "complete shutdown" of Muslims entering the United States.
First lady Melania Trump and senior White House adviser Ivanka Trump both opted to leave their heads uncovered during the visit.
They followed the lead of former first lady Michelle Obama in 2015, and both British Prime Minister Theresa May and German Chancellor Angela Merkel earlier this year.
It didn't go unnoticed that Mr Trump had previously criticised Ms Obama's decision on Twitter, saying that Saudi Arabia had been "insulted".
But head coverings aren't required for foreigners.
ABC/wires
Topics: unrest-conflict-and-war, world-politics, donald-trump, saudi-arabia, yemen, iran-islamic-republic-of, united-states
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