Opening Hormuz Drives a Wedge into U.S.-Saudi Relations

[applegrove]

Opening Hormuz Drives a Wedge into U.S.-Saudi Relations

July 1, 2026 at 5:33 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 2 Comments

https://politicalwire.com/2026/07/01/opening-hormuz-drives-a-wedge-into-u-s-saudi-relations/

“More than 100 U.S. military aircraft were taking off from bases and warships across the Middle East as part of an effort to crack open the Strait of Hormuz this past spring when they hit a glitch: Saudi Arabia, whose bases and airspace were critical to the mission, was saying no,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The pushback forced the U.S. to abort Project Freedom, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter, ending the military operation to guarantee safe passage for ships that President Trump had launched hours earlier.”

Applegrove: and now some gulf states are negotiating their own deals with Iran. Israel is alienated from the US. What could go wrong?

[newdeal2]

1. I'm glad these corrupt gulf nations are getting a wake up call

They bribed Trump and got very little in return. Oh well.

[yaesu]

2. Bone spurs upsets bone saw. Nt

[applegrove]

3. I see what you did there. LOL!

Last edited Wed Jul 1, 2026, 04:37 PM - Edit history (1)

[LetMyPeopleVote]

4. How the Iran War Ignited a Clash Between Trump and the Saudi Crown Prince (New York Times Gift Article)

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pressed President Trump earlier to cripple Iran. But as Iran asserted its power, the prince urged a cease-fire, and is now pursuing his security priorities.

Link to tweet

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/us/politics/trump-saudi-crown-prince-iran.html?unlocked_article_code=1.uVA.WaPi.TquZGsahvppF

But U.S. Central Command was caught by surprise when officials from Saudi Arabia said American forces could not use the kingdom’s air space for the mission, which the Pentagon was calling Project Freedom. The Americans had not consulted the Saudis.....

But the crown prince stood his ground, fearing that the American plan could reignite war. The Trump administration was forced to shut down Project Freedom less than 48 hours after it had begun.

“They had lost confidence in the administration, and they thought if they let the U.S. use their airspace, they would get hit even harder by Iran,” said Hussein Ibish, a scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington.

The all-hands campaign by the White House to sway Prince Mohammed, which has not previously been reported, and other crucial moments during the war revealed American and Saudi officials becoming increasingly at odds over how to approach security in the region, particularly with regard to Iran and Israel.

And more and more, the Saudis see the U.S. government as unreliable and even on occasion a risk to Gulf Arab nations....

As Mr. Trump tries to navigate diplomacy with Iran, with a focus on Tehran’s nuclear program, Saudi Arabia continues to carry out its own initiatives, veering away from American priorities and moving to strengthen ties with other nations. That includes Pakistan and China, which helped broker a diplomatic opening between the kingdom and Iran in 2023. The Saudi foreign minister is visiting China this week.

Because of that opening, Saudi officials are speaking directly to their Iranian counterparts about Iran’s control of the strait, missile arsenal and support for regional militias — all of which the Saudi leadership considers to be a bigger threat than the nuclear issue......

But Saudi officials are adopting a wait-and-see approach on outcomes of the agreement. For one thing, they have not committed any funds to rebuilding Iran, which the agreement calls for from America and its regional partners.