US President Donald Trump says Saudi's de facto leader knew nothing about the murder of a Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, in 2018
Trump was speaking during a meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office. His assertion contradicts a 2021 US intelligence report
Trump also says that a "lot of people didn't like" Khashoggi, while the crown prince calls the killing, in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, a "huge mistake". Watch the exchange here
After the meeting, Khashoggi's widow says the crown prince "should meet me, apologize and compensate me for the murder of my husband"
The two leaders also discuss closer economic ties - the crown prince says Saudi Arabia will invest $1tn in the United States
Cristiano Ronaldo, captain of Saudi football club Al-Nassr, is due to appear at the White House later, an official confirms
'You don't have to embarrass our guest': Trump and MBS questioned on death of Jamal Khashoggi
The US president and the crown prince have both sat down to start their bilateral meeting.
They're delivering some opening remarks now - you can watch live at the top of the page.
Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent
We're just waiting on the two leaders to emerge for bilateral talks in the Oval Office. One thing likely to be on the agenda is bin Salman's push for a defence agreement with the US. Tom Bateman looks at the current security relationship between the two countries.
The US has troops stationed at military bases across Saudi Arabia, including at the Prince Sultan Air Base south of Riyadh which contains US Patriot missile batteries.
Combined with its other bases in Gulf states, these make up Washington’s outsized role in the region’s security balance.
The US military presence in the kingdom has often been controversial.
But the bases, sitting across the Gulf from Iran, are intended to create deterrence against America’s adversaries; while providing protection to its allies - Israel and the Gulf Arab states.
That strategic relationship has, however, been under pressure, with both Iran and Israel having launched strikes on Qatar this year.
The Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, want Washington to provide them with a more formal security pledge.
Qatar got that from Trump earlier this year. Now Mohammed bin Salman wants the same; plus his long-held desire for American F-35 fighter jets and progress on US backing for a Saudi civilian nuclear power programme.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Washington DC
We're expecting to see US President Donald Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the Oval Office any minute now.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
A little more on that warm welcome for the crown prince.
As he arrived there was a fly-over, which we now know consisted of three F-35 fighter jets and three F-15s.
It's a personal touch from President Trump, who told reporters ahead of this visit that the US will sell F-35s to Saudi Arabia.
Image source, SAUL LOEB/AFP
Image source, ReutersUS President Donald Trump observed a procession of horses in front of the White House while waiting for the Saudi crown prince to arrive
Image source, Getty ImagesThe two leaders greeted each other outside the White House, and posed for photos
Image source, Getty ImagesThey then return outside, and look at a long line of presidential portraits
Image source, ReutersMembers of the US delegation stand outside the White House as they wait to enter
Image source, AFP via Getty ImagesTrump and the crown prince briefly step outside again, and can be seen speaking in the White House garden.
The pair look at a wall filled with pictures of former US presidents.
You can watch these moments unfold by pressing watch live at the top of the page.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
Image source, REUTERS/Jessica KoscielniakI've just returned to the White House basement. When the crown prince arrived I was outside on the north side of the White House, where I could hear national anthems being played and the cannons blasting.
About a minute before I walked back inside, a flight of six US fighter jets flew over the White House - a sign of how important military hardware is likely to be in the upcoming discussion.
Usually "working visits" to the White House are quite straightforward affairs, in which the visiting leader is driven down the driveway on the north side of the building to meet the US president at the doors to the West Wing.
This sort of pomp-and-circumstance is usually reserved for heads of state, which in Saudi Arabia's case would be King Salman.
Having this sort of reception is a sign of how important Saudi Arabia is to the Trump administration, whether that be diplomatically, militarily or economically.
Image source, REUTERS/Evelyn HocksteinAs the two leaders shook hands they exchanged some words, which were not picked up by the cameras.
They then stood for a few moments outside the White House - looking upwards as a flyover, believed to be made up of F-35 fighter jets, took place.
The crown prince and the president then entered the White House where they will take part in a bilateral meeting. As they did so, Trump briefly placed his hand on bin Salman's back.
Image source, The White HouseTrump emerges from the building and stands in front of the White House.
Music plays as the Saudi crown prince arrives and the pair shake hands.
The pair stand while jets fly overhead.
Image source, ReutersWe're seeing members of the US and Saudi delegations leave the White House now.
US and Saudi flags are being held by uniformed soldiers outside the building.
We expect to see Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and President Donald Trump shortly - you can watch live at the top of the page.
Image source, Reuters
Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent
Donald Trump’s first international trip of his first term was to Saudi Arabia. His first full foreign trip of his second term began in Saudi Arabia.
Great Britain may have a historical claim to the term “special relationship” when it comes to the US, but it’s clear that Trump's connection to Saudi Arabia – politically, financially and personally – is anything but ordinary.
During his trip to Riyadh earlier this year, the Saudis promised more than $600bn (£456bn) in US investments. More could be on the way following Mohammed bin Salman’s visit – his first to the US since the Saudis were implicated in the 2018 murder of Washington Post reporter Jamal Khashoggi.
That episode appears to be ancient history, at least for Trump.
The US president has offered the Saudis access to state-of-the-art US military hardware, including F-35 fighter jets. He has made Saudi Arabia a key player in his Middle East peace plan, even if the kingdom has yet to sign on to his Abraham Accords pact and normalised relations with Israel.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has had a steady stream of foreign leaders seeking to curry his favour, with varying levels of success. Few will have received the kind of warm greeting that awaits the Saudi crown prince, however.
Deals, handshakes and Musk - a recap of Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia earlier this year
Sameer Hashmi
Reporting from Riyadh
Even before Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives at the White House on Tuesday, President Trump has set the tone for a show of warm camaraderie by announcing that the US will sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia - something the crown prince has long sought.
But the process is far from straightforward, with major hurdles ahead and a long phase of complex negotiations before any delivery can be assured.
The de facto Saudi leader is also pushing for a defence agreement ratified by the US Congress.
Earlier this year, President Trump signed a security pact with Qatar through an executive order, after Israel’s strike on Doha in September.
But in return, President Trump wants Saudi Arabia to normalise ties with Israel. Officials familiar with the talks tell me that the Saudis will not agree unless Israel commits to a credible pathway towards a two-state solution.
In the end, Riyadh is likely to receive a deal resembling Doha’s, not a full defence pact at this stage.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
This is a rare visit to the US from Ronaldo, who has faced legal battles over allegations that he raped a woman in Las Vegas in 2009.
Ronaldo has long denied the allegations and has never been charged.
A lawsuit was dismissed in 2022 as a result of "misconduct" by the plaintiff's attorney.
Image source, Getty ImagesCristiano Ronaldo, captain of Saudi football club Al-Nassr, will be at the White House today for the Saudi crown prince's visit, an official confirms.
They did not say whether he is part of the delegation.
Ronaldo is one of the world's most famous football players and has become the face of the Saudi Pro League, which is Saudi Arabia's top flight football league.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
Among the topics that are to be discussed today at the meeting between Trump and the crown prince are the sale of advanced US F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia - a controversial move that has raised eyebrows among some observers.
In the US, some defence officials have expressed concern that sales of the jet - considered the world's most advanced - would give the Saudis access to sensitive stealth technologies, which it could then share with China under a partnership between the two countries.
In Israel, some officials have also noted that F-35 sales to Saudi Arabia could upset Israel's qualitative military edge in the region. At the moment, Israel is the only country in the Middle East that operates the aircraft.
Trump, however, has been adamant that the sale will go through, saying on Monday that "we will be selling F-35 jets" and that the Saudis have been a "great ally".
Image source, ReutersThe United States will sell F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, President Trump told reporters in the White House yesterday.
"I will say that we will be doing that; we'll be selling F-35s, yeah," Trump said in the Oval Office the day before hosting Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The Saudis "want to buy" them, and they've "been a great ally", Trump added.
Tom Bateman
US State Department correspondent
This is Mohammed bin Salman’s first visit to the US since the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a former Saudi insider turned critic and US-based newspaper columnist.
His killing and dismemberment at the hands of Saudi agents in Turkey in 2018 sparked global outrage.
A US intelligence assessment later concluded bin Salman had approved the operation that led to his killing.
He has denied any prior knowledge but said as Saudi leader he accepted responsibility for it.
Following the killing, the first Trump administration sanctioned 17 Saudi officials for their alleged role in the murder, which was followed by increasing global isolation for the crown prince.
President Joe Biden entered office vowing to make a “pariah” of Saudi Arabia. He restricted some US arms sales to the country citing the “humanitarian and strategic catastrophe” of its role in the war in Yemen.
Ultimately, though, desperate for relief to rising fuel prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Biden ended up visiting Saudi Arabia - notoriously fist bumping the crown prince - and kickstarting bin Salman’s rehabilitation in the eyes of the West.
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House
Image source, Bernd Debusmann Jr/BBC NewsPreparations for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's White House visit began early.
Dozens of green Saudi flags adorn Pennsylvania Avenue and nearby Lafayette Park, where they have been affixed to lamp posts alongside US flags.
This is technically a "working visit", which generally have less pomp than a more formal "state visit" by foreign leaders.
That is not the case today. When the crown prince arrives, he will be met by ceremonial cannon fire - a rare honour for which the US Army was rehearsing on the South Lawn just a few days ago.
At 11:45 local time (16:45 GMT), President Trump and bin Salman will have their Oval Office meeting, which will be open to today's White House press pool.
After lunch the crown prince will leave the White House, but will again meet Trump in the evening at a gala dinner being held in the White House's East Room.
Image source, Getty ImagesUS President Donald Trump is set to host Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto leader Mohammed bin Salman at the White House.
The pair are expected to sign a defence pact, and discuss AI investments and the war in Gaza.
The visit follows Trump's announcement on Monday that the US would be selling F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.
The US president visited the Gulf Kingdom in May, where the two leaders signed deals which the White House claimed were worth some $600bn (£456bn) in investment in the US.
And this is the first time the crown prince has visited the White House since 2018. In the same year, prominent Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.
The incident has proven to be a point of tension with the US - Trump has previously described it as the "worst cover-up in history".
US intelligence suggested that bin Salman approved the operation. The crown prince has denied any involvement.
We'll be bringing you the latest here as the two leaders meet at the White House.