US President Donald Trump on Monday left for Saudi Arabia on what he called a "historic" tour of the Middle East that will mix urgent diplomacy on Gaza and Iran with huge business deals.
Air Force One took off on a journey that starts in Saudi Arabia and includes stops in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates -- and possibly talks in Türkiye on the Ukraine war.
Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza will hang heavy over the first major tour of Trump's second term -- but in one sign of progress, US-Israeli hostage Edan Alexander was handed over to the Red Cross just as the president boarded his plane.
"It's big news," Trump said at the White House shortly before departing. "He's coming home to his parents, which is really great news. They thought he was dead."
Trump has in recent weeks seemed to cool on his efforts to end the Gaza war -- despite boasting before taking office that he would be able to bring the conflict to a swift end.
Trump said there were "very good things happening" on talks between Washington and Tehran over Iran's nuclear ambitions -- though he added that Iran "can't have a nuclear weapon."
The US president said that he hoped for more developments on Gaza during his trip to the Gulf, noting that his tour involved "three primary countries" in the region.
Riyadh will host on Wednesday a Gulf-American summit as Trump visits the region.
The summit will bring together the US president with his counterparts from the Arab Gulf.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz sent on Sunday invitations to the leaders of Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman to attend the summit.
