The National Interest Foundation Newsletter
Issue 310, November 21, 2025
Welcome to our NIF Newsletter. In this week’s edition, we delve into why human rights activists criticized President Trump’s warm welcome of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, examine the expansion of already strong relations between Malaysia and the United States, and analyze how months of complex negotiations to form a new government are expected in Iraq following its recent parliamentary election.
Editor: Bassam Tarbush
Human Rights Activists Criticize Trump’s Warm Welcome of the Saudi Crown Prince
This week, U.S. President Donald Trump elicited a wide array of criticism for his warm and lavish welcome of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) – in what marked the latter’s first visit to the United States since the 2018 killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. American intelligence agencies long concluded with high confidence that MBS himself approved the murder. As such, human rights activists and others denounced Trump’s public hosting of the Saudi Crown Prince for prioritizing financial deals and personal family business connections over any sense of moral justice and accountability. On top of the condemnation that the mere visit itself understandably garnered, Trump also drew criticism for his dismissal of the heinous killing and his vehement defense of MBS – which contradicted U.S. intelligence findings. The American president’s comments were seen by human rights advocates and press freedom organizations as highly insensitive and an attempt to justify the indefensible murder, while also emboldening further reprehensible behavior like it.
Many observers and human rights defenders also expressed concern with the visit due to the message that the grand welcoming and spectacle sent. They criticized it for providing the Saudi Crown Prince an opportunity to shed his pariah status on the global stage with no semblance of accountability for his widely acknowledged involvement in the killing of Khashoggi. The lack of consequence for what was deemed to be a state-sanctioned murder of the journalist, who was also a U.S. resident and Washington Post columnist, is a grave injustice and an alarming failure of accountability. In essence, Trump’s warm and lavish welcoming offered MBS a chance to restore his diplomatic standing with a complete disregard for human rights. Additional criticism towards Trump’s actions stemmed from the fact that members of his family and business organization have significant financial ties to the Saudi regime, creating a major and problematic conflict of interest where the American president’s personal considerations might influence U.S. foreign policy.
Coinciding with the MBS visit, a coalition of more than 10 human rights and press freedom organizations – which included Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Freedom House, among others – released joint statements urging Trump administration officials to publicly address the Saudi regime’s troubling human rights record. These organizations highlighted the severe and ongoing crackdown on free expression which has seen Saudi authorities detain and hand down long arbitrary prison sentences to human rights activists, journalists, and political dissidents. All of this has prompted advocates and some members of Congress to call on Trump administration officials to use their leverage to demand concrete human rights reforms, rather than remaining silent and emboldening further repression. Ultimately, these individuals have criticized the Trump administration for prioritizing interests like investment deals and arms sales (including the sale of F-35 fighter jets) over serious human rights concerns.
During MBS’s time in Washington, the United States and Saudi Arabia signed a Strategic Defense Agreement – elevating Saudi Arabia to the status of a “major non-NATO ally.” The agreement facilitates significant American arms sales to Saudi Arabia, with the new status designation streamlining the country’s ability to acquire U.S. military equipment and reducing licensing hurdles. The deal was part of a broader set of agreements signed during the Saudi Crown Prince’s visit this week, which also included ones regarding cooperation on artificial intelligence, critical minerals supply chains, and civil nuclear energy. Critics have voiced concern with the agreements, particularly those involving additional weapons sales, arguing that they reward an autocratic regime with an abysmal human rights record. These entities were quick to draw attention to Saudi Arabia’s destructive military intervention in Yemen, which created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises and resulted in thousands of civilian deaths from airstrikes using U.S.-supplied weapons, and the fear that the further transferring of arms will lead to other catastrophes like this.
President Trump’s prioritization of business deals while publicly and vehemently downplaying serious human rights concerns during the Saudi Crown Prince’s visit this week was understandably criticized by many observers. This was especially problematic given Trump’s dismissal and direct contradiction of U.S. intelligence conclusions regarding MBS’s involvement in the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Rights advocates have justifiably denounced this for providing a “green light” to others to carry out egregious human rights abuses and crimes, while sending a negative signal about the United States’ commitment to human rights accountability.
The Expansion of Already Strong Relations Between Malaysia and the United States
Malaysia and the United States have long shared strong ties built on diverse partnerships in areas such as economic and security cooperation, trade, investment, and defense. Back in 2014, the two countries elevated their already robust bilateral relationship to a comprehensive partnership under the administration of then-United States President Barack Obama, paving the way for increased coordination in many of the aforementioned sectors. Most recently, U.S.-Malaysian relations were further expanded to a comprehensive strategic partnership (CSP) last month in October during a meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The new CSP aims to deepen cooperation and solidifies Malaysia’s role as a key U.S. partner in the Asia-Pacific region.
The enhancing of relations last month saw the United States and Malaysia sign a milestone Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) – a deal designed to broaden bilateral market access, address non-tariff barriers, align the two countries’ economic security initiatives, and strengthen investment. As a part of the agreement, Malaysia has committed to providing preferential access for a wide range of American products, including both industrial and agricultural goods. In turn, the deal allows for increased U.S. investment in important Malaysian sectors like critical minerals, energy, and telecommunications. Analysts believe that the ART will provide greater trade certainty, expand market access in these vital and growing sectors, and strengthen supply chain resilience. There is also the expectation that it will attract more American investment in Malaysia, positioning the latter country as a crucial alternative manufacturing hub to China. This is clearly a largely strategic move on the part of the United States as it is aimed at reducing dependence on other dominant entities in this sector such as China. Overall, the prevailing opinion from most experts is that the agreement offers a valuable framework for stability and growth, providing both Malaysia and the United States with significant opportunities to do so.
Strong economic ties are viewed as the cornerstone of U.S.-Malaysian relations, with the United States consistently being one of Malaysia’s largest trading partners and a major investor, particularly in the manufacturing, electrical and electronic (E&E) products, banking, oil and gas, and semiconductor sectors. This is only expected to deepen more now in light of the recent developments with the October 2025 ART. One of the most noteworthy things that the agreement will do is give exporters from both countries greater market access and enhance cooperation on export controls – which includes a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on critical minerals supply chains. Experts point to how the MOU will help facilitate American investment in Malaysia’s critical minerals sector, while also seeing the U.S. share technical expertise and best practices to bolster the industry.
In addition to the deepening of economic relations, the recent October 2025 ART and the accompanying MOU between the United States and Malaysia also strengthens the two countries’ security and defense ties. These agreements do so by aligning national security trade policies, as well as through the formalizing of defense and maritime cooperation. Regarding policy alignment, as a part of the deals Malaysia has committed to conforming its national security and export control practices with those of the United States in order to prevent unfair competition and the potential transfer of sensitive technologies to unauthorized third parties. As for defense and maritime cooperation, the agreements include provisions which open the door for Malaysia’s acquisition of U.S. defense articles and services, while expanding coordination on maritime security and maritime domain awareness. Observers have noted that this is especially relevant and significant given ongoing regional tensions in the South China Sea. Lastly, Malaysia and the U.S. already cooperate closely on security matters, including through counter-terrorism efforts and initiatives aimed at promoting regional stability. Malaysian forces regularly conduct joint naval training exercises with their American counterparts, and the U.S. military possesses access to Malaysian airfields, ports, and training facilities. The agreement signed last month in October is due to further enhance these military ties as well.
Months of Complex Negotiations to Form a New Government Expected in Iraq Following Its Recent Parliamentary Election
A recent parliamentary election was held in Iraq last week on November 11th in order to determine the makeup of the country’s Council of Representatives. While Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani’s coalition won the most seats (46) in the 329-member parliament, no single bloc achieved an outright majority. This sets the stage for what experts and analysts forecast will be potentially months of complex negotiations aimed at coalition-building to form a new government. Previous instances have typically taken such a period of time, with the most recent one even taking approximately a year to form and culminating in the election of Abdul Latif Rashid as president of Iraq and the subsequent designation of Mohammed Shia al-Sudani as prime minister.
The major outcomes stemming from last week’s election included the strong showing from the incumbent prime minister’s coalition, the higher-than-expected voter turnout, the boycotting of the election by some groups, and the unsurprising likelihood of prolonged negotiations to form a new Iraqi government. Regarding the performance of the current prime minister’s coalition, its securing of the highest number of votes overall and in several provinces has seemingly bolstered his chances for a second term according to some experts, but others point out that the long process ahead means that this is far from a guarantee. Additionally, turnout was reported at an unexpectedly high 56.1%, which marked a notable rise from the rate of 43% back in the 2021 election. This was made further unforeseen by the fact that it occurred despite a boycott campaign led by Iraqi politician Muqtada al-Sadr, who implored his supporters to stay at home and not take part in the election. Turnout was deemed to be markedly higher in predominantly Sunni and Kurdish provinces as compared to Shia-majority areas where participation often fell to below 50% – a phenomenon that was likely the result of the aforementioned boycott.
Observers forecast that even with his coalition securing the most parliamentary seats, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani still faces significant challenges in forming a new coalition government. This is due to several key factors such as the internal divisions within Iraq’s Shiite political bloc. Sudani was initially brought to power by the Coordination Framework (CF) alliance of Shiite parties, however, he ran independently in this election and has been at odds with other prominent CF members. As a result, there are suspicions that an alliance could emerge against the current prime minister. There is also the challenge of how to handle the substantial level of popular support for the influential Muqtada al-Sadr, whose previous withdrawal from the government formation process back in 2022 resulted in unrest which risks manifesting again and potentially threatening the stability of a new government. On top of all of this, Sudani’s coalition will need to negotiate with major Sunni and Kurdish blocs in order to form a viable majority – something that will require delicate maneuvering and compromise.
Iraq’s political landscape also often sees it engage in an intricate geopolitical balancing act involving navigating relations with major entities on the global stage like the United States and Iran. Just as the current government has been doing, the new one will seek to secure economic cooperation and military assistance from the United States while at the same time managing similar ties with Tehran. To first be in a position to try and accomplish this, above all, a robust coalition will need to be put together in order to allow a new government to come to fruition. The outcome of this will largely depend on which major political blocs in Iraq are able to successfully create alliances. The manner in which the process of forming a new government plays out remains to be seen, but what is certain is that the prolonged negotiations and maneuvering to do so will be challenging.
