President Donald Trump is traveling aboard Air Force One from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the third and final stop on his tour of the Middle East.

In Qatar, the president highlighted key investments in Boeing, but also made news on Iran nuclear negotiations, Russia-Ukraine talks, a potential India tariff deal, and the possibility of a Gaza “freedom zone.”

He addressed thousands of US troops at Al Udeid Air Base, marking his largest crowd of the trip and an effort to highlight US-Qatari security ties.

Trump was also greeted with much fanfare by the country’s emir and treated to a state dinner.

The president is expected to tour Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and attend a state dinner in Abu Dhabi upon his arrival.

President Donald Trump on Thursday thanked US troops for political support during a campaign rally-style visit to a US installation in Qatar, telling troops stationed at Al Udeid Air Base that “nobody’s been stronger than the military in terms of backing us.”

“There’s – nobody been stronger than the military in terms of backing us, nobody. So, I just want to thank you all very much. Great honor. Thank you very much,” Trump said at the largest US military installation in the Middle East, a base highlighting the deep security ties between the US and Qatar.

Trump, who is on the second of three stops in the Middle East, also repeated baseless claims of 2020 election fraud while on foreign soil, noting calls to seek a fourth term.

President Donald Trump said his priority is to end wars, but he won’t hesitate to “wield American power if it’s required,” while addressing US troops in Qatar on Thursday.

Trump visited the Al Udeid Air Base, which houses 10,000 American troops and plays a critical role in US foreign policy, on his first major international presidential visit of his second term.

President Donald Trump is speaking at the largest US military installation in the Middle East, the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar.

The base houses more than 10,000 troops and has played a pivotal role in US foreign policy over the last two decades.

President Donald Trump on Thursday morning appeared to indicate that the US has reached a trade deal with India, in which, India is “willing to literally charge us no tariff.”

“India is the highest – one of the highest tariff nations in the world. It’s very hard to sell into India, and they’ve offered us a deal where, basically, they’re willing to literally charge us no tariff,” Trump said during a roundtable with business leaders in Doha.

On his so-called “liberation day,” Trump imposed 26% tariffs on India. The US has a $45.6 billion trading deficit with India.

As President Donald Trump makes his way to the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military installation in the Middle East, the warm-up acts have already begun for a few thousand troops waiting to see their commander-in-chief.

Von was among the right-leaning podcasters whose support of Trump in the presidential campaign was credited with helping to win the support of many young men. Today, he offered a few jokes at the president’s expense.

Lee Greenwood, the country music star whose “God Bless the USA” has become the anthem of Trump campaign rallies over the past decade, is also on hand here on the base outside of Doha.

Trump is making his first visit to Al Udeid Air base, which houses more than 10,000 troops and has played a pivotal role in US foreign policy over the last two decades. It served as a critical launching pad for airstrikes and intelligence missions over Afghanistan and was the main CENTCOM base following the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

It’s the largest audience the president will face on his trip across the Middle East this week. He is expected to take a tour of base facilities before giving a rally-style speech to troops.

President Donald Trump on Thursday again proposed the idea of the US taking over Gaza, offering the idea of a “freedom zone” as he continued to muse about redeveloping the war-torn enclave.

Trump’s efforts to end the Israel-Hamas conflict have so far proven elusive, and the former real estate developer has previously floated the idea of the US taking control and developing Gaza.

He continued, “They’ve never solved the Gaza problem and if you look at it, I have aerial shots, I mean there’s practically no building standing, there’s no building. People are living under the rubble of buildings that collapsed, which is not acceptable, it’s tremendous death. And I want to see that be a freedom zone.”

Almost 70 people were killed overnight in Gaza as a week of intense Israeli strikes continues.

Israeli strikes killed 57 people in Khan Younis, according to a list from the Nasser Hospital mortuary. Videos supplied by local journalists show young children among those killed and bodies filling the mortuary at the hospital, with staff saying it was “packed with bodies.”

CNN’s Kareem Khadder contributed to this report.

Donald Trump’s perceived domestic political enemies appeared to remain top of mind during his Middle Eastern sojourn. The president took aim at Democrats and the media in Doha on Thursday even as he appeared at an event ostensibly aimed at heralding business deals with Qatar.

Former Transportation Secretary and Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg reemerged on the national stage this week for a town hall in Iowa amid speculation about a 2028 presidential bid – and Trump took time to mock him in Doha.

As he praised his Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for “working right now on the airports and getting a system,” Trump slammed the Biden administration and Buttigieg’s bicycling commute.

“And they say he’s going to run for president. I don’t see it. Who knows, right? But I don’t see it.”

Trump has largely ignored the long-held presidential norms of avoiding criticism domestic political opponents while traveling abroad, personally attacking his predecessor for the second day in a row.

As he visits a region where a free press is not guaranteed, Trump called the media “enemies.”

President Donald Trump on Thursday continued to express hope for a nuclear agreement with Iran, suggesting progress even as he warned of a “violent step” if a deal is not reached.

He reiterated that Iran “can’t have a nuclear weapon” and suggested that negotiators are “getting very close to maybe doing a deal.”

His top foreign envoy Steve Witkoff held a fourth round of talks with Iranian counterparts on Sunday, with discussions expected to continue in the coming days.

Global oil prices fell after Trump’s comments that the talks had made progress. A potential US-Iran nuclear deal raises the prospect of more of Tehran’s oil becoming available on the global market, boosting overall supply.

The price of a barrel of Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell over 3% Thursday morning to $64 a barrel. West Texas Intermediate, the US oil benchmark, was trading down 3.5% to almost $61 a barrel around the same time.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian offered less optimistic language on Wednesday, lambasting remarks made by Trump earlier in his Middle East tour.

Seated at a business roundtable with Qatari leaders, Trump vowed that the US would “protect” Iran’s neighbor.

CNN’s Anna Cooban contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump said Thursday he was not disappointed by news that Vladimir Putin will not attend Ukraine war talks in Turkey, saying he didn’t expect Putin to attend the talks that the Russian leader himself suggested.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin would not attend the direct talks, which were first proposed by the president in response to the ceasefire-or-sanctions ultimatum given to Moscow by Ukraine’s European allies on Saturday.

In a subsequent post to social media, Trump called on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to “HAVE THE MEETING, NOW!!!”

On Thursday, Trump told reporters in Qatar he “didn’t anticipate” Putin’s participation when asked if he was disappointed by the Russian president’s absence at the talks.

He continued, “I didn’t think it was possible for Putin to go if I’m not there.”

Trump repeatedly floated the possibility of traveling to Turkey to join the talks, which would have upended his Middle East trip.

“I was thinking about going,” Trump said Thursday in what could be an attempt to save face, but once more kept the option open:

CNN’s Ivana Kottasova and Jeff Zeleny contributed to this report.

Donald Trump again praised Syria’s interim leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa on Thursday, characterizing the former jihadist-turned-president as someone with a “strong past.”

Trump’s comments underscore his frequent efforts to publicly praise and admire strongmen leaders.

Trump announced Tuesday that he plans to lift sanctions on Syria following last year’s fall of the Assad regime.

Trump and Al-Sharaa held a key meeting Wednesday in Riyadh as the US explores the possibility of normalizing diplomatic relations with Syria.

Until recently, al-Sharaa had a $10 million US bounty on his head. Once known by his militant nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, he was placed on the US Specially Designated Global Terrorist list in 2013 for heading al Qaeda’s affiliate in Syria. But in 2016, he broke away from the group, according to the US Center for Naval Analyses.

CNN’s Mostafa Salem contributed to this report.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian rejected remarks made by Donald Trump during his Middle East tour, saying the US president is “naive” for thinking Iran will give in.

“You have tried to bring Iran to its knees for the past 47 years. We have existed for thousands of years and will continue as one for the years to come.”

At the Saudi-US investment forum in Riyadh on Tuesday, Trump called Iran the “biggest and most destructive” of forces in the Middle East, saying “enemies get you motivated.”

Trump’s comments come amid nuclear talks between the US and Iran. Trump said he wants to sign a nuclear deal with Iran, but that there will be a price to pay if Tehran rejects a deal.

Trump repeated his threats on Wednesday, saying he doesn’t want nuclear talks in Iran to take a “violent course.”

Pezeshkian said “Iran will continue its progress with or without a deal.”

President Donald Trump is “open to virtually any mechanism to get us to a just, enduring and lasting peace” in Ukraine, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Thursday at an informal meeting of foreign ministers in Antalya, Turkey.

Rubio also repeated the Trump administration’s position that there is “no military solution” to the war started by Russia’s invasion of its neighbor in 2022.

Trump is not going to Turkey to mediate today’s expected meeting between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul. He had repeatedly hinted that he might upend his Middle East trip to join negotiations after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he would be “grateful” for his presence and Trump said Russian President Vladimir Putin would “like me to be there.”

Putin is also skipping the talks.

The US and Saudi Arabia inked a $142 billion defense partnership on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia, along with other Gulf countries such as Qatar, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates are among the top 15 largest importers of weapons globally. A large proportion of their imports comes from the US.

American companies, led by Lockheed Martin, are the largest producers of arms worldwide.

Kathy Warden, CEO of Northrop Grumman, and Kelly Ortberg, CEO of Boeing, joined Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, alongside other American business leaders, at a lunch in Riyadh’s Saudi Royal Court on Tuesday— according to a list provided by the White House.

President Donald Trump met with Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday after the US leader said that he planned to lift sanctions on Syria.

CNN’s Becky Anderson explains why the meeting was so significant:

Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani greeted US President Donald Trump atop a red carpet.

Then Trump’s motorcade was escorted through the streets of Doha by a cavalry of red Tesla Cybertrucks, a nod to the president’s senior adviser, Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

The motorcade was greeted at Amiri Diwan, the administrative offices of the emir, by dozens of mounted camels and Arabian horses.

Seated in plush, gilded chairs at a tea ceremony, the emir lavished praise on his guest, saying Trump was “the first American president to officially to visit Qatar.”

Economic deals totalling more than $243 billion between the US and Qatar were announced, including an agreement for Doha to purchase jets from US manufacturer Boeing for Qatar Airways.

A White House fact sheet said it was a $96 billion agreement to acquire up to 210 American-made Boeing planes, contradicting Trump, who said the deal was worth $200 billion and included 160 jets.

Boeing could use the help; it has faced a string of safety incidents and financial troubles in recent years.

The deal was inked days after Trump said he planned to accept a Boeing 747-8 from Qatar to be used initially as Air Force One — raising legal, ethical and security concerns and drawing widespread criticism.

The Qatari prime minister and minister of foreign affairs told CNN’s Becky Anderson the offer was simply a “government-to-government transaction,” not a personal gift to Trump, adding that the matter was “still under legal review.”

: Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth signed defense agreements, including a statement of intent on cooperation between the countries. Hegseth also signed offer and acceptance letters for MQ 9B aircrafts and FS-LIDS. And Trump signed a joint declaration of cooperation between the two countries.

Kit Maher contributed to this post.