New Delhi: Claiming that Arab nations were closely working with Washington in the ongoing war against Iran, US President Donald Trump said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had effectively ended up “kissing my ass”.Speaking at the Future Investment Initiative conference in Florida, Trump elaborated on that claim by recounting what he said was a conversation with the Saudi royal about the US’s resurgence under his presidency.“He said, you know, it’s amazing … a year ago, you were a dead country. Now, you’re literally the hottest country anywhere in the world,” Trump said.Trump then directly linked that assessment to his characterisation of the current dynamic with Riyadh, repeating his claim in full rather than as an aside. “He didn’t think this was going to happen … he didn’t think he’d be kissing my ass … he thought it’d be just another American president that was a loser … but now he has to be nice to me,” he said.He followed that with praise for the Saudi crown prince, calling him “a fantastic man” and “a warrior”, and saying the kingdom “can be very proud” of his leadership.Trump said Saudi Arabia had stood with the US during the recent conflict with Iran, along with other Gulf partners. “Saudi Arabia fought, Qatar fought, UAE fought, Bahrain fought and Kuwait fought,” he said, adding that they “were with us … they were with us”.The remarks come nearly a month into the US-Israel military campaign against Iran, which began on February 28 with large-scale strikes targeting Iranian military and nuclear infrastructure.Iran immediately expanded the conflict across the region, with Tehran launching missile and drone attacks not only at Israel, but also multiple Gulf countries that host US military assets.Despite coming under fire, the Gulf states have not formally joined the war as combatants. They have instead remained publicly cautious, concerned about the risks of retaliation and the broader economic fallout, particularly disruptions to energy infrastructure and the Strait of Hormuz.However, according to some media reports, Gulf countries, especially the UAE and Saudi Arabia, have been egging Trump on to continue the war to decimate Iran’s military capabilities.Against that backdrop, Trump portrayed them as active partners in the campaign on Friday.He named Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan alongside the Saudi crown prince, describing them as “three great people” who had been “under tremendous attack” but remained aligned with Washington.At the same time, Trump contrasted their role with NATO allies, saying, “we’re very disappointed … with NATO. They didn’t come to our aid”, and adding that the Gulf countries had done more “in all fairness … more so than NATO”.He also linked political alignment to economic ties, pointing to Saudi investment commitments and defence deals, while urging Riyadh to join the Abraham Accords. “It’s now time … we’ve now taken them out … we got to get into the Abraham Accords,” he said.Closing his remarks, Trump expressed a desire for his legacy to be that of a “great peacemaker”, claiming he has already “settled eight wars” and was the rightful recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize.He repeated his claim to have intervened to halt a conflict between India and Pakistan. “I even stopped India and Pakistan … they were going at it … I said, if you keep fighting, I’m going to put a 250% tariff on each one … ‘all right, we won’t fight anymore’,” he said.