Trump Signs Kushner-Negotiated $100 Billion Saudi Arms Deal

The deal was finalized in part thanks to the direct involvement of Jared Kushner, the President's son-in-law and senior adviser. He shocked a high-level Saudi delegation earlier this month when he personally called Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson and asked if she would cut the price of a sophisticated missile detection system, according to a source with knowledge of the call, CNN reported.

Pressured to finalize a massive $100-plus billion arms deal in the two weeks leading up to Trump's trip to Saudi Arabia, Kushner hoped to maneuver a discount on Lockheed's Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system during the Saudis' visit to the White House on May 1 -- a request that Hewson said she would look into at the time.

On Saturday, near the end of Trump's first day in the kingdom, the two leaders inked a deal greenlighting a $109 billion defense deal, which Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said was a component of $350 billion in economic and defense investments between the two countries over the next 10 years.

Lockheed's Hewson was on hand Saturday in the cavernous Riyadh ballroom where Trump and Salman made the deal official.

The company was "proud to be part of this historic announcement that will strengthen the relationship between" the US and Saudi Arabia," Hewson said.

The sales authorized under the deal would bolster Saudi Arabia's security, provide an economic boom to both countries and "strengthen the cause of peace in the region," she added.

In a statement, a White House official called the defense deal "a significant expansion of the over seven-decade long security relationship between" the US and Saudi Arabia.

"This package of defense equipment and services support the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the (Persian) Gulf region in the face of Iranian threats while also bolstering the Kingdom's ability to contribute to counterterrorism operations across the region, reducing the burden on the US military to conduct those operations," the White House official said.

It is unclear how much the Saudis will be paying for THAAD, but Trump called it a "billion-dollar system" last month when the US deployed the advanced missile defense radar to South Korea.

Trump is scheduled to outline his vision for US-Muslim relations to an audience of more than 50 leaders of Muslim countries attending the “Arab Islamic American Summit” on Sunday.

During his speech, however, he is expected to hail the Saudi government as a strong Muslim ally and a partner in the fight against extremism.

This reeks of hypocrisy as the Saudi-backed clerics openly preach and practice Wahhabism, a radical ideology that inspires terrorists around the world. Daesh (ISIL) and other terrorist groups take advantage of Wahhabism to declare people of other faiths "infidels," a justification for their execution.

Trump will make stops next week in the Occupied Palestine and in Italy.