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Bilateral relations Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...
between Saudi Arabia and the United States began in 1933 when full diplomatic relations were established and became formalized in the 1951 Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement. Despite the differences between the two countries—an Islamic
absolute monarchy Absolute monarchy (or Absolutism as a doctrine) is a form of monarchy in which the monarch rules in their own right or power. In an absolute monarchy, the king or queen is by no means limited and has absolute power, though a limited constitut ...
, and a secular
constitutional republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...
—the two countries have been allies ever since. The core logic underpinning the relationship is that the United States of America (USA) provides military protection of the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Arab ...
(KSA) in exchange for a reliable oil supply from the Saudis, pricing of oil in USA dollars, and Saudi support for USA foreign policy operations across the world. However, the Saudi Ambassador to the US, Reema bint Bandar says the relationship in recent years has shifted from “oil for security” to one that is built around regional growth, food and energy security, stability, and climate change. The current status of the alliance was given 15 July 2022 in The Jeddah Communique: A Joint Statement Between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that was attended by
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Joe Biden in Jeddah. Ever since the modern KSAUSA relationship began in 1945, the USA has been willing to overlook some of the kingdom's more unusual aspects such as Wahhabism, its human rights and alleged state-sponsored terrorism as long as it maintained oil production and supported USA national security policies. Since World War II, the two countries have been allied in opposition to communism, in support of stable oil prices, stability in the
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
fields and oil shipping of the Persian Gulf, and stability in the economies of Western countries where Saudis have invested. In particular the two countries were allies against the Soviets in Afghanistan and in the expulsion of Iraq from Kuwait in 1991. The two countries have disagreed with regard to Israel, as well as the embargo of the U.S. and its allies by Saudi Arabia and other Middle East oil exporters during the 1973 oil crisis (which raised oil prices considerably), the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq (which Saudi Arabia opposed), aspects of the " War on Terror", and what many in the U.S. see as the pernicious influence of Saudi Arabia after the September 11 attacks. In recent years, particularly the
Barack Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
, the relationship between the two countries became strained and witnessed major decline. However, the relationship was strengthened by the Trump Administration's trip to Saudi Arabia in May 2017. The October 2018 assassination of Saudi dissident and '' Washington Post'' journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate in Turkey caused a serious rift between the countries. The United States sanctioned some Saudi nationals, and Congress unsuccessfully attempted to cut off U.S. weapons sales to Saudi related to the war in Yemen due to opposition from the Trump administration. Turkish authorities and U.S. intelligence agencies concluded the killing was done on the order of
Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Pri ...
, the
crown prince of Saudi Arabia The crown prince of Saudi Arabia is the second-most important position in Saudi Arabia, second to the King, and is his designated successor. Currently, the Crown Prince assumes power with the approval of the Allegiance Council after he is no ...
. Saudi Arabia subsidized its oil exports to the U.S. until President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
proposed the overthrow of the Iraqi government in 2002. The
shale oil Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock (kerogen) into synthetic oil and gas. The resulting oil c ...
boom enabled the United States to become a net exporter of petroleum products in 2019, making the U.S. economy significantly less dependent on Saudi oil. Arms sales to Saudi Arabia remain an important U.S. export. The U.S. Department of Defense acts as an intermediary charging 7% of such sales, allowing it to fund training activities in other countries such as
Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
. Historically, opinion polls between the two nations showed negative feelings between the American people and Saudi people despite the strong relationship between the two countries. Most Saudi criticism pertained to America's support of Israel during the
Arab-Israeli conflict The Arab citizens of Israel are the largest ethnic minority in the country. They comprise a hybrid community of Israeli citizens with a heritage of Palestinian citizenship, mixed religions (Muslim, Christian or Druze), bilingual in Arabic an ...
; American criticism pertained to lack of
human rights in Saudi Arabia Human rights in Saudi Arabia are a topic of concern and controversy. The Saudi government, which mandates both Muslim and non-Muslim observance of Islamic law under the absolute rule of the House of Saud, has been accused of and denounced by va ...
and the
alleged Saudi government role in the September 11 attacks Since the September 11 attacks in the United States in 2001, allegations of Saudi government involvement in the attacks have been made, with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) regularly denying such claims. The 2004 ''Final Report'' of the Nat ...
. A poll of Saudis by
Zogby International John J. Zogby (born September 3, 1948) is an American public opinion pollster, author, and public speaker. He is founder of the Zogby International poll, and he serves as a senior partner at John Zogby Strategies, a full-service marketing and ...
(2002) and
BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
(between October 2005 and January 2006) found 51% of Saudis had hostile feelings towards the American people in 2002; in 2005–2006, Saudi public opinion was sharply divided with 38% viewing U.S. influence positively and 38% viewing U.S. influence negatively. However, as of July 2022, 92% of young
Saudis Saudis ( ar, سعوديون, Suʿūdiyyūn) are people identified with the country of Saudi Arabia. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. The Saudis are composed mainly of Arabs and primarily speak a regional dialect ...
viewed the United States as an ally of their nation. In 2019, Saudi Arabian students formed the 4th largest group of international students studying in the United States, representing 3.4% of all foreigners pursuing higher education in the U.S. A December 2013 poll found 57% of Americans polled had an unfavorable view of Saudi Arabia and 27% favorable, while a poll in July 2021 found that 50% of Americans viewed the country at least as a necessary partner of the US.


History


Early history (recognition)

King Abdulaziz Al Saud Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud ( ar, عبد العزيز بن عبد الرحمن آل سعود, ʿAbd al ʿAzīz bin ʿAbd ar Raḥman Āl Suʿūd; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted ...
, Ibn Saud as an appellation, the founder of Saudi Arabia, developed close ties with the United States. After unifying his country in 1928, he set about gaining international recognition. Great Britain was the first country to recognize Saudi Arabia as an independent state, as the British had provided protection of Saudi territories from the Turks for many years. In May 1931 the U.S. officially recognized Saudi Arabia by extending full diplomatic recognition. At the same time Ibn Saud granted a concession to the U.S. company, Standard Oil of California, allowing them to explore for oil in the country's Eastern Province, al-Hasa. The company gave the Saudi government £35,000 and also paid assorted rental fees and royalty payments. In November 1931, a treaty was signed by both nations which included favored nation status. The relationship was still weak, however, as America did not have an interest in establishing missions in Saudi Arabia: at the time, Saudi affairs were handled by the U.S. delegation in Cairo, Egypt; The U.S. finally sent a resident ambassador in 1943. The relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States of America was economically strengthened in 1933, when Standard Oil of California was given a concession to explore the Saudi Arabian lands for oil. The subsidiary of this company, regarded as California Arabian Standard Oil Company, later dubbed
Saudi Aramco Saudi Aramco ( ar, أرامكو السعودية '), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company) or simply Aramco, is a Saudi Arabian public petroleum and natural gas company based in Dhahran. , it is one of ...
carried out a fruitful exploration in 1938, finding oil for the first time. The relationship between the two nations strengthened throughout the next decade, establishing a full diplomatic relationship through a symbolic acceptance of an American envoy in Saudi Arabia.


World War II

As the U.S.–Saudi relationship was growing slowly, World War II was beginning its first phase, with Saudi Arabia remaining neutral. The U.S. was deeply involved in World War II, and as a result, U.S.–Saudi relations were put on the 'back burner'. This negligence left Saudi Arabia vulnerable to attack. Italy, an
Axis An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to: Mathematics * Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis *Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...
power, bombed a CASOC oil installation in Dhahran crippling Saudi Arabia's oil production. This attack left Bin Saud scrambling for to find an external power that would protect the country, fearing further attacks that would most likely cease the country's oil production and the flow of pilgrims coming into Mecca to perform
Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried o ...
, the base of the Saudi power and economy at that time. CASOC struck oil near Dhahran, but production over the next several years remained low—only about 42.5 million barrels between 1941 and 1945; less than 1% of the output in the United States over the same time period. CASOC was later renamed the Arabian-American Oil Company (Aramco). However, as World War II progressed, the United States began to believe that Saudi oil was of strategic importance. As a result, in the interest of national security, the U.S. began to push for greater control over the CASOC concession. On February 16, 1943, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As th ...
declared that "the defense of Saudi Arabia is vital to the defense of the United States", thereby making possible the extension of the Lend-Lease program to the kingdom. Later that year, the president approved the creation of the state-owned Petroleum Reserves Corporation, with the intent that it purchase all the stock of CASOC and thus gain control of Saudi oil reserves in the region. However, the plan was met with opposition and ultimately failed. Roosevelt continued to court the government, however—on February 14, 1945, he met with King Ibn Saud aboard the
USS Quincy Three United States Navy ships have been named USS ''Quincy'', after the city of Quincy, Massachusetts. * was a German cargo ship seized during World War I. * was a heavy cruiser The heavy cruiser was a type of cruiser, a naval warship desi ...
, discussing topics such as the countries' security relationship and the creation of a Jewish country in the Mandate of Palestine. Bin Saud approved the U.S.'s request to allow the U.S. air force to fly over and construct airfields in Saudi Arabia. The oil installations were rebuilt and protected by the U.S., the pilgrims' routes were protected, and the U.S. gained a much needed direct route for military aircraft heading to Iran and the Soviet Union. The first American consulate was opened in Dhahran in 1944.


After World War II

In 1945, after World War II, Saudi citizens began to feel uncomfortable with U.S. forces still operating in Dhahran. In contrast, Saudi government and officials saw the U.S. forces as a major component of the Saudi military defense strategy. As a result, Ibn Saud balanced the two conflicts by increasing the demands on U.S. forces in Dhahran when the region was highly threatened and lowering it when the danger declined. At this time, due to the start of the Cold War, the U.S. was greatly concerned about Soviet communism and devised a strategy of 'containing' the spread of communism within
Arabian Peninsula The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
, putting Saudi security at the top of Washington's list of priorities. Harry S. Truman's administration also promised Bin Saud that he would protect Saudi Arabia from Soviet influence. Therefore, the U.S. increased its presence in the region to protect its interest and its allies. The security relationship between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. was therefore greatly strengthened at the start of the 'cold war'.


Foundation of Aramco

The United States of America and Saudi Arabian trade relationship has long revolved around two central concepts: security and oil. Throughout the next two decades, the 50s and 60s, relations between the two nations grew significantly stronger. In 1950, Aramco and Saudi Arabia agreed on a 50/50 profit distribution of the oil discovered in Saudi Arabia. In 1951 the Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement was put into action, which allowed for the U.S. arms trade to Saudi Arabia, along with a United States military training mission to be centered in Saudi Arabia.


King Saud comes to power (1953)

In the late 1950s,
King Saud Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, سعود بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Suʿūd ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', Najdi Arabic pronunciation: ; 15 January 1902 – 23 February 1969) was King of Saudi Arabia from 9 November 1953 ...
, the eldest son of Ibn Saud, came to power after his father's death. During King Saud's time U.S.–Saudi relations faced many obstacles concerning the anti-communism strategy. President
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
's new anti-Soviet alliance combined most of "the kingdom's regional rivals and foes", which heightened Saudi suspicions. For this reason, in October 1955, Saud had joined the pro-Soviet strategy with Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. Furthermore, Saud dismissed the U.S. forces and replaced them by Egyptian forces. Thus, this act had sparked and innovated a new and a large conflict in the relationship. But in 1956, during the Suez crisis, Saud began to cooperate with the U.S. again after Eisenhower forced the reversal of the Israeli, British, and French invasion to seize the canal. King Saud had admired the act and decided to start cooperating with the U.S. As a result, Egyptian power greatly declined while U.S.–Saudi relations were simultaneously improving.


Cold War and Soviet containment

In 1957, Saud decided to renew the U.S. base in Dhahran. In less than a year, after the Egyptian–Syrian unification in 1958, Egypt's pro-Soviet strategy had returned to power. Saud had once again joined their alliance, which declined the U.S.–Saudi relationship to a fairly low point especially after he announced in 1961 that he changed his mind on renewing the U.S. base. In 1962, however, Egypt attacked Saudi Arabia from bases in Yemen during the 1962 Yemeni revolution because of Saudi Arabia's Anti-revolution propaganda, which made Saud seek the U.S. support. President John F. Kennedy immediately responded to Saud's request by sending U.S. warplanes in July 1963 to the war zone to stop the attack which was putting U.S. interests at risk. At the end of the war, shortly before Prince Faisal became king, the relationship rebuilt itself to become healthy again. As the United Kingdom withdrew from the Persian Gulf region in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the U.S. was reluctant to take on new security commitments. Instead, the Nixon administration sought to rely on local allies to "police" American interests (see Nixon Doctrine). In the Persian Gulf region, this meant relying on Saudi Arabia and Iran as "twin pillars" of regional security. Whereas in 1970 the U.S. provided less than $16 million to Saudi Arabia in military aid, that number increased to $312 million by 1972. As part of the "twin pillars" strategy, the U.S. also attempted to improve relations between the Saudis and the Iranians, such as by persuading Iran to remove its territorial claim to
Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an a ...
.


Oil embargo and energy crises

In November 1964, Faisal became the new king after the conflicts he had with his brother Saud, the erstwhile king. The U.S., on the other hand, was not sure about the outcome of such unplanned change in the Saudi monarchy. Faisal, however, continued the cooperation with the U.S. until October 20, 1973. Then came the low point of the relationship before 9/11, as Faisal decided to contribute in an oil embargo against the U.S. and Europe in favor of the Arab position during the
Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab state ...
. That caused an
energy crisis An energy crisis or energy shortage is any significant bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In literature, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, in particular, those that supply n ...
in the U.S. "America's complete Israel support against the Arabs makes it extremely difficult for us to continue to supply the United States with oil, or even remain friends with the United States," said Faisal in an interview with international media. Despite the tensions caused by the
oil embargo An oil embargo is an economic situation wherein entities engage in an embargo to limit the transport of petroleum to or from an area, in order to exact some desired outcome. One commentator states, " oil embargo is not a common commercial practice; ...
, the U.S. wished to resume relations with the Saudis. Indeed, the great oil wealth accumulated as a result of price increases allowed the Saudis to purchase large sums of American military technology. The embargo was lifted in March 1974 after the U.S. pressured Israel into negotiating with Syria over the Golan Heights. Three months later, "Washington and Riyadh signed a wide-ranging agreement on expanded economic and military cooperation." In the 1975 fiscal year, the two countries signed $2 billion worth of military contracts, including an agreement to send Saudi Arabia 60
fighter jets Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air superiority of the battlespace. Domination of the airspace above a battlefield p ...
. The Saudis also argued (partially on behalf of American desires) to keep OPEC price increases in the mid-1970s lower than Iraq and Iran initially wanted. The Saudis' increase of oil production to stabilize the oil price and the support of
anti-communism Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when the United States and the ...
have all contributed to closer relations with the U.S. In January 1979, the U.S. sent
F-15 The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...
fighters to Saudi Arabia for further protection from communism. Furthermore, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia were both supporting anti-communist groups in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and struggling countries, one of those groups later became known as the
Al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
terrorist organization.


Government purchases

After the Cold War, U.S.–Saudi relations were improving. The U.S. and Saudi companies were actively engaged and paid handsomely for preparing and administrating the rebuilding of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia transferred $100 billion to the United States for administration, construction, weapons, and in the 1970s and 1980s higher education scholarships to the U.S. During that era the U.S. built and administrated numerous military academies, navy ports, and Air Force
military airbase An air base (sometimes referred to as a military air base, military airfield, military airport, air station, naval air station, air force station, or air force base) is an aerodrome used as a military base by a military force for the operation ...
s. Many of these military facilities were influenced by the U.S., with the needs of cold war aircraft and deployment strategies in mind. Also, the Saudis purchased a great deal of weapons that varied from
F-15 The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is an American twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter aircraft designed by McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Following reviews of proposals, the United States Air Force selected McDonnell Douglas's ...
war planes to
M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams is a List of main battle tanks by generation, third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern Armoured warfa ...
main battle tanks that later proved useful during the Gulf War. The U.S. pursued a policy of building up and training the Saudi military as a counterweight to Shiite extremism and revolution following the revolution in Iran. The U.S. provided top-of-the-line equipment and training, and consulted the Saudi government frequently, acknowledging them as the most important Islamic leader in that part of the world, and a key player in the U.S. security strategy.


The Gulf War

Relations between the two nations solidified even further past the point of the oil embargo, whereas the United States of America sent nearly 500,000 soldiers to Saudi Arabia in attempt to aid in protection against Iraq. Following Operation Desert Shield, which was a response by President George H. W. Bush to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, America kept 5,000 troops in Saudi Arabia to maintain their protection and trade relations. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 led to the Gulf War, during which the security relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia was greatly strengthened. Concurrently with the U.S. invasion,
King Fahd Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, فهد بن عبد العزيز آل سعود ''Fahd ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Suʿūd'', ; 1920, 1921 or 1923 – 1 August 2005) was a Saudi Arabian politician who was King and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia fro ...
declared war against Iraq. The U.S. was concerned about the safety of Saudi Arabia against Saddam's intention to invade and control the oil reserves in the region. As a result, after King Fahd's approval, President Bush deployed a significant amount of American military forces (up to 543,000 ground troops by the end of the operation) to protect Saudi Arabia from a possible Iraqi invasion; this operation was called
Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases ...
. Furthermore, the U.S. sent additional troops in operation Desert Storm with nearly 100,000 Saudi troops sent by Fahd to form a U.S.–Saudi army alliance, along with troops from other allied countries, to attack Iraqi troops in Kuwait and to stop further invasion. During the ground campaign of Operation Desert Storm Iraqi troops were defeated within four days, causing the Iraqis to retreat back to Iraq. Since the Gulf War, the U.S. had a continued presence of 5,000 troops stationed in Saudi Arabia—a figure that rose to 10,000 during the 2003 conflict in Iraq. Operation Southern Watch enforced the no-fly zones over southern Iraq set up after 1991, and the country's oil exports through the shipping lanes of the Persian Gulf are protected by the
U.S. Fifth Fleet The Fifth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy. It has been responsible for naval forces in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and parts of the Indian Ocean since 1995 after a 48-year hiatus. It shares a commander and headq ...
, based in
Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an a ...
.


September 11, 2001. attacks on U.S.

The continued presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia was one of the stated motivations behind the September 11 attacks, as well as for the
Khobar Towers bombing The Khobar Towers bombing was a terrorist attack on part of a housing complex in the city of Khobar, Saudi Arabia, near the national oil company (Saudi Aramco) headquarters of Dhahran and nearby King Abdulaziz Air Base on 25 June 1996. At that tim ...
in 1996. In 2003, the U.S. withdrew most of its troops from Saudi Arabia, though one unit still remains.


2010 U.S. arms sale to Saudi Arabia

On October 20, 2010, U.S. State Department notified Congress of its intention to make the biggest arms sale in American history—an estimated $60.5 billion purchase by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The package represents a considerable improvement in the offensive capability of the Saudi armed forces. The U.S. was keen to point out that the arms transfer would increase "interoperability" with U.S. forces. In the 1990–1991 Gulf War, having U.S.-trained Saudi forces, along with military installations built to U.S. specifications, allowed the American armed forces to deploy in a comfortable and familiar battle environment. This new deal would increase these capabilities, as an advanced American military infrastructure is about to be built.


Foreign policy

Upon becoming regent in 2005, King Abdullah's first foreign trip was to China. In 2012, a Saudi–Chinese agreement to cooperate in the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes was signed. Abdullah also welcomed Russian president Vladimir Putin to Riyadh in 2007, awarding him the kingdom's highest honor, the King Abdulaziz Medal. Russia and Saudi Arabia concluded a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and LUKOIL to develop new Saudi gas fields. The news of Saudi Prince
Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Pri ...
’s claim of new title as that of a Prime Minister in October 2022 was followed by criticism. Critics claim that the prince’s potential immunity from the lawsuits filed against him in the US would increase cover following his appointment as the PM. A judge in US gave lawyers a deadline of October 3, 2022, for filing a “statement of interest” on the question of immunity. However, considering the new position, the Biden administration demanded an added 45-day time to decide, as per a court filing viewed by the AFP. President Biden was quoted warning Saudi Arabia in October 2022 for its teaming up with Russia on the drastic production cut by OPEC Plus. The President told media, “there’s going to be some consequences for what they’ve done with Russia”. However, despite the criticism a plethora of corporate leaders from America are said to show up at Saudi-sponsored Davos in the Desert to be held in Riyadh in October 2022. The attendance by prominent corporate figures from America proves the limits of US efforts in punishing Saudi for crossing American policy goals.


2013 rift

The United States after 2000 developed techniques to recover oil and gas much more cheaply, and soon became an exporter. Instead of depending on purchases of Middle Eastern oil and gas, it became a rival.
Alwaleed bin Talal Al Waleed bin Talal Al Saud ( ar, الوليد بن طلال آل سعود; born 7 March 1955) is a Saudi Arabian billionaire businessman, investor, philanthropist and royal. He was listed on ''Time'' magazine's Time 100, an annual list of the hu ...
warned Saudi ministers in May 2013 that
shale gas Shale gas is an unconventional natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations. Since the 1990s a combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has made large volumes of shale gas more economical to produce, and some a ...
production in the U.S. would eventually pose a threat to the kingdom's oil-dependent economy. Despite this, the two countries still maintained a positive relationship. In October 2013, Saudi intelligence chief Prince
Bandar bin Sultan Bandar bin Sultan Al Saud (born 2 March 1949) is a retired Saudi Arabian diplomat, military officer, and government official who served as Saudi Arabia's ambassador to the United States from 1983 to 2005. He is a member of the House of Saud. From ...
suggested a distancing of Saudi Arabia–United States relations as a result of differences between the two countries over the Syrian civil war and diplomatic overtures between Iran and the Obama administration. The Saudis rejected a rotating seat on the UN Security Council that month (despite previously campaigning for such a seat), in protest of American policy over those issues. Saudi Arabia was cautiously supportive of a Western-negotiated
interim agreement The Oslo I Accord or Oslo I, officially called the Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements or short Declaration of Principles (DOP), was an attempt in 1993 to set up a framework that would lead to the resolution of th ...
with Iran over its nuclear program. President Obama called King Abdullah to brief him about the agreement, and the White House said the leaders agreed to "consult regularly" about the U.S.'s negotiations with Iran.


Jamal Khashoggi assassination

In October 2018, the Jamal Khashoggi case put the U.S. into a difficult situation as Trump and his son-in-law,
Jared Kushner Jared Corey Kushner (born January 10, 1981) is an American businessman and investor. He served as a senior advisor to 45th U.S. president Donald Trump, his father-in-law. Since leaving the White House, Kushner founded Affinity Partners, a priv ...
, share a strong personal and official bond with
Mohammad bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. H ...
. During an interview, Trump vowed to get to the bottom of the case and that there would be "severe punishment" if the Saudi kingdom is found to be involved in the disappearance or assassination of the journalist. A vexed reply came from the Saudi Foreign Ministry saying if Saudi Arabia "receives any action, it will respond with greater action," citing the oil-rich kingdom's "influential and vital role in the global economy." After weeks of denial, Saudi Arabia accepted that Khashoggi died at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul during a "fistfight." Adel al-Jubeir described the journalist's death as a "murder" and a "tremendous mistake." But he denied the knowledge of whereabouts of the body. Following the case, the U.S. promised to revoke the visas of Saudi nationals responsible for Khashoggi's death. In November 2018, Trump defended Saudi Arabia, despite the country's involvement in the killing of Khashoggi. Experts said it is impossible for Mohammad bin Salman to visit Washington or have a direct relationship with the Trump administration. However, in November 2018, relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia re-strengthened when Trump nominated John Abizaid, a retired U.S. army general who spoke Arabic as U.S. ambassador to the country. Saudi Arabia also brought a fresh face on board, appointing their first female ambassador, Princess
Reema bint Bandar Al Saud Reema bint Bandar Al Saud ( ar, ريما بنت بندر بن سلطان بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود; born 15 February 1975) is a member of House of Saud and the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States. She took office as ambass ...
, to help calm relations in the wake of Khashoggi's death. On December 12, 2018,
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid pro ...
approved a resolution to suspend Yemen conflict-related sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia and impose sanctions on people obstructing humanitarian access in Yemen. Senator Lindsey Graham said, "This sends a global message that just because you're an ally of the United States, you can't kill with impunity. The relationship with Saudi Arabia is not working for America. It is more of a burden than an asset." On April 8, 2019, U.S. Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...
announced that 16 Saudi nationals involved in Khashoggi's murder, including Mohammed bin Salman's close aid Saud al-Qahtani, have been barred from entering the U.S.


Armenian genocide recognition

In 2019, the United States Congress issued official recognition of the
Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through th ...
, which was the first time the United States has officially acknowledged the genocide, having previously only unofficially or partially recognized the genocide. Turkey, which has traditionally denied such genocide to exist, accused the United States of inflaming tensions. Donald Trump has rejected the resolution by the Congress, citing that his administration's stance on the issue had not changed. Despite Trump's denial, the resolution was sponsored by Trump's ally Saudi Arabia, highlighting increasing disdains and distrust toward Turkey from both Saudi Arabia and the United States.


Controversies


First conflict

While the U.S.–Saudi relationship was growing, their first conflict began when the disorder broke between the Jews and
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, No ...
in April 1936 in the British-administrated Palestine mandate. The U.S. favored the establishment of an independent Israeli state, but Saudi Arabia on the other hand, the leading nation in the Islamic and
Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western As ...
were supporting the Arab position which sparked up their first conflict. In other words, the U.S. oil interest in Saudi Arabia could be held hostage depending on the circumstances of the conflict. U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt sent the king a letter indicating that it is true that the U.S. supports the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, but it is not in any way responsible for the establishment. Ibn Saud was convinced by the message that the U.S.–Saudi relations had begun to run smooth again. Moreover, in March 1938, CASCO made a big oil discovery in Saudi Arabia booming the oil industry in the country and coincidentally the U.S. became more interested in Saudi oil. As a result, on February 4, 1940, as the World War II was approaching, the U.S. had established a diplomatic presence in Saudi Arabia to have closer relations with the Saudis and to protect it from enemy hand;
Bert Fish Bert Fish (October 8, 1875July 21, 1943) was an American lawyer, judge, philanthropist, and ambassador. Early life Fish originally hailed from Bedford, Indiana, but moved to Volusia County, Florida in 1881. He became the Superintendent of the ...
, former ambassador in Egypt was elected as the U.S. ambassador in Jeddah.


Petrodollar power

The United States dollar is the ''de facto'' world currency. The
petrodollar Petrodollar recycling is the international spending or investment of a country's revenues from petroleum exports ("petrodollars"). It generally refers to the phenomenon of major petroleum-exporting states, mainly the OPEC members plus Russia ...
system originated in the early 1970s in the wake of the Bretton Woods collapse. President Richard Nixon and his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, feared that the abandonment of the international gold standard under the Bretton Woods arrangement (combined with a growing U.S. trade deficit, and massive debt associated with the ongoing Vietnam War) would cause a decline in the relative global demand of the U.S. dollar. In a series of meetings, the United States and the Saudi royal family made an agreement. The United States would offer military protection for Saudi Arabia's oil fields, and in return the Saudi's would price their oil sales exclusively in United States dollars (in other words, the Saudis were to refuse all other currencies, except the U.S. dollar, as payment for their oil exports).


September 11 attacks

On
September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercia ...
on New York City and Washington, D.C. and in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania by four hijacked airplanes killed 2,977 victims and cost an estimated $150 billion in property and infrastructure damage and economic impact, exceeding the death toll and damage caused by the Japanese
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, ju ...
60 years earlier. 15 of the 19 hijackers in the attacks came from Saudi Arabia, as did the leader of the hijackers' organization, ( Osama bin Laden). In the U.S., there followed considerable negative publicity for, and scrutiny of, Saudi Arabia and its teaching of Islam, and a reassessing of the "oil-for-security" alliance with the Al Saud. A 2002 Council on Foreign Relations Terrorist Financing Task Force report found that "for years, individuals and charities based in Saudi Arabia have been the most important source of funds for al-Qaeda. And for years, Saudi officials have turned a blind eye to this problem." In the backlash against Saudi Arabia and Wahhabism, the Saudi government was portrayed in the media, Senate hearings, and elsewhere as
a sort of oily heart of darkness, the wellspring of a bleak, hostile value system that is the very antithesis of our own. America's seventy-year alliance with the kingdom has been reappraised as a ghastly mistake, a selling of the soul, a gas-addicted alliance with death.
There was even a proposal at the
Defense Policy Board The Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee, also referred to as the Defense Policy Board (DPBAC or DPB), is a federal advisory committee to the United States Department of Defense. Their charter is available online through the office of the Di ...
, (an arm of Department of Defense) to consider 'taking Saudi out of Arabia' by forcibly seizing control of the oil fields, giving the
Hijaz The Hejaz (, also ; ar, ٱلْحِجَاز, al-Ḥijāz, lit=the Barrier, ) is a region in the west of Saudi Arabia. It includes the cities of Mecca, Medina, Jeddah, Tabuk, Yanbu, Taif, and Baljurashi. It is also known as the "Western Provinc ...
back to the
Hashemite The Hashemites ( ar, الهاشميون, al-Hāshimīyūn), also House of Hashim, are the royal family of Jordan, which they have ruled since 1921, and were the royal family of the kingdoms of Hejaz (1916–1925), Syria (1920), and Iraq (1921� ...
s, and delegating control of Medina and Mecca to a multinational committee of moderate, non-Wahhabi Muslims. In Saudi Arabia itself, anti-American sentiment was described as "intense" and "at an all-time high". A survey taken by the Saudi intelligence service of "educated Saudis between the ages of 25 and 41" taken shortly after the 9/11 attacks "concluded that 95 percent" of those surveyed supported Bin Laden's cause. (Support for Bin Laden reportedly waned by 2006 and by then, the Saudi population become considerably more pro-American, after Al-Qaeda linked groups staged attacks inside Saudi Arabia.) The proposal at the Defense Policy Board to "take Saudi out of Arabia" was spread as the secret U.S. plan for the kingdom. In October 2001, The '' Wall Street Journal'' reported that Crown Prince Abdullah sent a critical letter to U.S. President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
on August 29: "A time comes when peoples and nations part. We are at a crossroads. It is time for the United States and Saudi Arabia to look at their separate interests. Those governments that don't feel the pulse of their people and respond to it will suffer the fate of the Shah of Iran." For over a year after 9/11 Saudi Minister of the Interior (a powerful post whose jurisdiction included domestic intelligence gathering), Prince
Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, نايف بن عبد العزيز آل سعود, ''Nāyif ibn ‘Abd al ‘Azīz Āl Su‘ūd''; 1934 – 16 June 2012) was the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and deputy prime minister from October 2011 and the min ...
, insisted that the Saudi hijackers were dupes in a Zionist plot. In December 2002, a Saudi government spokesman declared that his country was the victim of unwarranted American intolerance bordering on ''hate.'' In 2003, several terror attacks targeted U.S. compounds, the Saudi ministry of interior, and several other places occurred inside Saudi Arabia. As a result of these attacks, the U.S. decided to redevelop Saudi law enforcement agencies by providing them with anti-terrorism education, the latest technologies, and by giving them a chance to interact with U.S. law enforcement agencies to gain efficient knowledge and power needed to handle terrorist cases and to enforce anti-terrorist laws. American politicians and media have accused the Saudi government of supporting terrorism and tolerating a
jihadist Jihadism is a neologism which is used in reference to "militant Islamic movements that are perceived as existentially threatening to the West" and "rooted in political Islam."Compare: Appearing earlier in the Pakistani and Indian media, Wes ...
culture, noting that Osama bin Laden and fifteen out of the nineteen (or 78 percent of) 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia. Although some analysts have speculated that Osama bin Laden, who in 1994 had his Saudi nationality revoked and expelled from Saudi Arabia, had chosen 15 Saudi hijackers on purpose to break up the U.S.–Saudi relations, as the U.S. was still suspicious of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi's decided to cooperate with the U.S. on the war on terror. "Terrorism does not belong to any culture, or religion, or political system", said King Abdullah as the opening address of the Counter-terrorism International Conference (CTIC) held in Riyadh in 2005. The cooperation grew broader covering financial, educational, technological aspects both in Saudi Arabia and Muslim-like countries to prevent pro-Al-Qaeda terrorists' activities and ideologies. "It is a high time for the Ulma (Muslim Scholars), and all thinkers, intellectuals, and academics, to shoulder their responsibilities towards the enlightenment of the people, especially the young people, and protect them from deviant ideas" said Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz Alsheikh, Minister of Islamic Affairs, in the CTIC. Almost all members of the CTIC agreed that Al-Qaeda target less educated Muslims by convincing them that they are warriors of God, but they really convince them to only accomplish their political goals. Three years after the Saudi Serious and active role on anti-terrorist, Al-Qaeda began launching multiple attacks targeting Saudi government buildings and U.S. compounds in Saudi grounds. Their attacks exhibit their revenge against Saudi Arabia's cooperation with the U.S. trying to stop further U.S.–Saudi anti-terrorist movements and trying to corrode the U.S.–Saudi relationship and to annihilate it. After these changes, the Saudi government was more equipped in preventing terrorist activities. They caught a large number of Saudi terrorists and terrorists from other countries (some of them American) that had connections with al-Qaeda in one way or another. Some of these criminals held high rank in terrorist society, which helped diffuse many terrorist cells. In a matter of months, Saudi law enforcement officials were successfully able to stop and prevent terrorist activities. Also, they were successful in finding the source of terrorist financing. In March 2018, a U.S. judge formally allowed a suit to move forward against Saudi Arabia government brought by 9/11 survivors and victim's families. In May 2021, 22 federal lawmakers from New York and New Jersey pressured President Joe Biden to release the classified FBI documents that cite the role of Saudi Arabia in the 9/11 terror attacks. The lawmakers Ione Republican
Nicole Malliotakis Nicole Malliotakis (; born November 11, 1980) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 11th congressional district since 2021. Her constituency covers Staten Island and southern Brooklyn. Malliotakis is the on ...
and NY Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, in their letter to the US Attorney General Merrick Garland challenged the "state secrets privilege" that was invoked by former US Presidents to restrict the classified FBI report from releasing. The evidence of Saudi Arabian involvement in the September 11 attacks first surfaced in a 2012 FBI memo during Operation Encore investigation.


Child abduction

The international abduction of American children to Saudi Arabia provoked sustained criticism and resulted in a Congressional hearing in 2002 where parents of children held in Saudi Arabia gave impassioned testimony related to the abduction of their children. Washington-based ''
Insight Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect within a particular context. The term insight can have several related meanings: *a piece of information *the act or result of understanding the inner nature of things or of seeing intu ...
'' ran a series of articles on international abduction during the same period highlighting Saudi Arabia a number of times.


Allegations of funding terrorism

According to a 2009 U.S. State Department communication by Hillary Clinton, United States Secretary of State, (disclosed as part of the Wikileaks U.S. 'cables leaks' controversy in 2010) "donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide". Part of this funding arises through the
zakat Zakat ( ar, زكاة; , "that which purifies", also Zakat al-mal , "zakat on wealth", or Zakah) is a form of almsgiving, often collected by the Muslim Ummah. It is considered in Islam as a religious obligation, and by Quranic ranking, is n ...
(an act of charity dictated by Islam) paid by all Saudis to charities, and amounting to at least 2.5% of their income. Although many charities are genuine, others allegedly serve as fronts for money laundering and terrorist financing operations. While many Saudis contribute to those charities in good faith believing their money goes toward good causes, it has been alleged that others know full well the terrorist purposes to which their money will be applied. In September 2016, the Congress passed the
Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) () is a law enacted by the United States Congress that narrows the scope of the legal doctrine of foreign sovereign immunity. It amends the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Anti-Terr ...
that would allow relatives of victims of the September 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for its government's alleged role in the attacks. Saudi Arabia was involved in the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
-led
Timber Sycamore Timber Sycamore was a classified weapons supply and training program run by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and supported by some Arab intelligence services, including Saudi intelligence. Launched in 2012 or 2013, it supplied ...
covert operation to train and arm Syrian rebels. Some American officials worried that Syrian rebels being supported had ties to al-Qaeda. In October 2015, Saudi Arabia delivered 500 U.S.-made TOW anti-tank missiles to anti-Assad rebels. Reports indicate that some TOW missiles have ended up in the hands of al-Qaeda in Syria and the
Islamic State An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ' ...
.


2017 arms deal and war in Yemen

Significant numbers of Americans have criticized the conduct of Saudi Arabia in its ongoing intervention in the Yemeni Civil War, including alleged war crimes such as bombing of hospitals, gas stations, water infrastructure, marketplaces and other groups of civilians, and archaeological monuments; declaring the entire Saada Governorate a military target; use of
cluster bomb A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehic ...
s; and enforcing a blockade of food and medical supplies that has triggered a famine. Critics oppose U.S. support of Saudi Arabia for this operation, which they say does not benefit the national security interests of the United States, and they object to the United States selling arms to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen. The approval of the 2017 arms deal was opposed by various lawmakers, including GOP Senators
Mike Lee Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party. Lee began his career as a clerk for the ...
, Rand Paul, Todd Young and Dean Heller along with most Democrat Senators who voted to advance the measure to block the sale, citing the human rights violations by Saudi Arabia in the Yemeni Civil War. Among the senators who voted against moving the measure to block the sale were Democratic Senators Joe Donnelly,
Claire McCaskill Claire Conner McCaskill (; born July 24, 1953) is an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Missouri from 2007 to 2019 and as State Auditor of Missouri from 1999 to 2007. McCaskill is a native of Rolla, Missouri. She gr ...
,
Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Nelson previously served as a United States Senator from Flori ...
, Joe Manchin and
Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th govern ...
along with top Republicans, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Bob Corker and John McCain.
Tulsi Gabbard Tulsi Gabbard (; born April 12, 1981) is an American politician, United States Army Reserve officer and political commentator who served as the U.S. representative for Hawaii's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2021. Gabbard was the fir ...
, a Democratic Representative from Hawaii, criticized the move, saying that Saudi Arabia is "a country with a devastating record of human rights violations at home and abroad, and a long history of providing support to terrorist organizations that threaten the American people". Rand Paul introduced a bill to try to block the plan calling it a "travesty". U.S. Senator
Chris Murphy Christopher Scott Murphy (born August 3, 1973) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Connecticut since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States H ...
accused the United States of complicity in Yemen's humanitarian crisis, saying: "Thousands and thousands inside Yemen today are dying. ... This horror is caused in part by our decision to facilitate a bombing campaign that is murdering children and to endorse a Saudi strategy inside Yemen that is deliberately using disease and starvation and the withdrawal of humanitarian support as a
tactic Tactic(s) or Tactical may refer to: * Tactic (method), a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific tasks ** Military tactics, the disposition and maneuver of units on a particular sea or battlefield ** Chess tactics ** Political tacti ...
." A June 2022 report by ''The Washington Post'' and the Security Force Monitor at
Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked ...
's Human Rights Institute stated that a "substantial portion" of airstrikes by the Saudi-led campaign were "carried out by jets developed, maintained and sold by U.S. companies, and by pilots who were trained by the US military". According to the U.S.-based
Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED) is a non-governmental organization specializing in disaggregated conflict data collection, analysis, and crisis mapping. ACLED codes the dates, actors, locations, fatalities, and types of all ...
(ACLED) analysis, airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition had killed 24,000 people, including 9,000 civilians. A group of Democratic representatives led by,
Ilhan Omar Ilhan Abdullahi Omar (born October 4, 1982) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party. Before her election to Congress, Omar served in the Minnesota ...
and
Joaquin Castro Joaquin Castro (born September 16, 1974) is an American lawyer and Democratic politician who has represented Texas's 20th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2013. The district includes just over half of h ...
announced to reestablish oversight of atrocities that were committed by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen war. Omar accused the US administration led by Joe Biden of basing the foreign policy on ‘oil dependence and / or geopolitical whims of foreign despots’, following granting of sovereign immunity to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman by Biden. On 18 November 2022, 13 House of Representatives wrote a letter requesting the Secretary of State
Antony Blinken Antony John Blinken (born April 16, 1962) is an American government official and diplomat serving as the 71st United States secretary of state since January 26, 2021. He previously served as deputy national security advisor from 2013 to 2015 and ...
and UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield to push for the reinstatement of the Group of Eminent Experts that reported of human rights abuses committed in Yemen previously, with the use of their influence.


Khashoggi killing

In October 2018, serious allegations were put on Saudi for murdering a Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. U.S. Secretary of State
Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...
urged Saudi Arabia to "support a thorough investigation" regarding the disappearance and "to be transparent about the results." Trump said, "We cannot let this happen to reporters, to anybody. We're demanding everything. We want to see what's going on there." Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican senator's reaction was stern, as he said "there would be hell to pay" if Saudi is involved in the murder of Khashoggi. He further added, "If they're this brazen it shows contempt. Contempt for everything we stand for, contempt for the relationship." Four of the alleged perpetrators accused of the
assassination of Jamal Khashoggi On 2 October 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident journalist was assassinated by agents of the Saudi government at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Khashoggi was ambushed and strangled by a 15-member squad of Saudi assassins. His body ...
reportedly received their paramilitary training from the United States in 2017. The training provided and approved under a State Department contract with an Arkansas-based security firm, Tier 1 Group, was publicly revealed in 2021. The State Department formally issued a license of training to the Saudi Royal Guard in 2014. The training started during the Obama administration and continued till the first year of President Donald Trump. Louis Bremer, a senior executive from Tier 1 Group's parent firm confirmed the role of his company in the training of the Saudis.


Freedom of religion

Ambassador at Large Sam Brownback condemned the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the Arab ...
for its religious freedom abuses, on the release of 2018 Report on International Religious Freedom by the State Department. Brownback called Saudi as "one of the worst actors in the world on religious persecution" and hoped to see "actions take place in a positive direction". The report details discrimination against and maltreatment of Shiite Muslims in Saudi Arabia that includes the mass execution of 34 individuals in April 2019, out of which a majority were Shiite Muslims.


2019 arms legislation

In the wake of a declining human rights record, on July 17, 2019, lawmakers in Washington backed a resolution to block the sale of precision-guided munitions to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The measure would have denied billions of dollars of weapon sale to the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen where thousands have been killed in the 4-year long war. President Trump vetoed three such resolutions, and there was not a two-thirds majority in the Senate to override. On August 3, 2020, Democrats in
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
issued
subpoenas A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
in probe of the U.S. Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia and the
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
. Democrats demanded the State Department officials to testify as part of investigation of 2019 arms sale and the dismissal of the State Department's inspector general, Steve Linick, by President Donald Trump in May on Pompeo's advice. On August 11, 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was cleared of charges of wrongdoing in a disputed arms sale to Saudi Arabia and
UAE The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
. He had been accused of abuse of power after he used an obscure emergency procedure to bypass congressional refusal to approve an $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan in May 2019.


2016 U.S. presidential election

In August 2016,
Donald Trump Jr. Donald John Trump Jr. (born December 31, 1977) is an American political activist, businessman, author, and former television presenter. He is the eldest child of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021, and his firs ...
had a meeting with an envoy representing Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and ''de facto'' ruler
Mohammad bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. H ...
, and
Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan ( ar, مُحَمّد بِن زَايد آل نَهيَان, Moḥamed bin Zāyed Āl Nahyān; born 11 March 1961), colloquially known by his initials as MBZ, is the third president of the United Arab Emirates ...
, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. The envoy offered help to the Trump presidential campaign, which would be illegal under U.S. law. The meeting included Lebanese-American lobbyist George Nader, Joel Zamel, an Israeli specialist in social media manipulation, and Blackwater founder Erik Prince. Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigated the Trump campaign's possible ties to Saudi Arabia. Lebanese-American businessman Ahmad Khawaja claimed that Saudi Arabia and UAE illegally funnelled millions of dollars into the Trump's campaign. In April 2017, U.S. President Donald J. Trump attempted to repair the United States' relationship with Saudi Arabia by having the U.S. Defense Secretary visit Saudi Arabia. Trump has stated that he aims to help and assist Saudi Arabia in terms of military protection to receive beneficial economic compensation for the United States in return.


Pensacola shooting

On December 6, 2019, an aviation student from Saudi Arabia
Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani On the morning of December 6, 2019, a terrorist attack occurred at Naval Air Station Pensacola in Pensacola, Florida. The assailant killed three men and injured eight others. The shooter was killed by Escambia County sheriff deputies after they ...
shot three people dead and injured eight others at U.S. Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida. This attack is concluded as a terrorist attack by
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
following the investigation. Alshamrani himself is a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force who was participating in a training program sponsored by the Pentagon as part of a security cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia. Later, the Navy suspended flight training for all Saudi military aviation students pending the results of the FBI investigation.


Coronavirus outbreak

On July 3, 2020, it was reported that dozens of American diplomats will be leaving Saudi Arabia, along with their families due to the kingdom's failure at containing the coronavirus outbreak, even as its economy reopens. Some of the diplomats believe that the government of Saudi Arabia may be underreporting the number of coronavirus cases by thousands.


Saudi Royals in the United States

Some members of the Saudi Royal family are known to have committed serious crimes in the United States. Princess Meshael Alayban was involved in human trafficking for a long time. Another princess, Princess Bunia assaulted her staff on many occasions.


Antony Blinken's Call

The secretary of state, Antony Blinken held a call in June 2022 with the family members of US nations detained overseas. However, the family members of those detained in Saudi Arabia were excluded from the call, garnering criticism against the state secretary, calling his actions “infuriating and discriminatory”. The call between Blinken and the families of those wrongfully detained in Russia, Rwanda, Venezuela, and other countries coincided with Joe Biden’s forthcoming trip to the Middle East. The decision especially attracted criticism due to a past pledge made by President Biden during his campaign of making Saudi Arabia a “pariah” for the 2018 murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi.


2022 OPEC+ oil production cut

In July 2022, President Joe Biden visited Saudi Arabia, keeping the Kingdom’s human rights at bay. Biden was attempting to seek support against
Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eight ...
in the Ukraine war, and to look for a solution for oil price surge and inflation at home. Post meeting, Biden suggested a potential higher oil production could be expected. In August,
OPEC+ The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC, ) is a cartel of countries. Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members ( Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been head ...
increased the oil production by 100,000 barrels per day, which was the smallest increase in history. Analysts said it was a “slap in the face” for the
Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the 46th president of the United States began with his inauguration on January 20, 2021. Biden, a Democrat from Delaware who previously served as vice president under Barack Obama, took office following his victory ...
by Saudi. In early October, Saudi, Russia and other OPEC+ members announced to cut the oil production by 2 million barrels per day. That amounted to the biggest cut since the Covid-19 pandemic. It was asserted as an intentional move to humiliate Biden and to aid Russia. Biden responded by vowing of “consequences” and said to reassess the relations with the Kingdom. Meanwhile, Democratic Senator
Robert Menendez Robert Menendez (; born January 1, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2006. Gale Biography In Context. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first ...
also threatened to freeze the arms sales and security cooperation with Saudi. Menendez said Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Pri ...
was helping “underwrite
Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin; (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who holds the office of president of Russia. Putin has served continuously as president or prime minister since 1999: as prime min ...
’s war through the OPEC+ cartel”. Saudi officials defended the oil cut saying it was crucial for the Kingdom’s core national interests.


American trapped in Saudi Arabia

An American citizen, Carly Morris, was reported to be trapped in Saudi Arabia due to a travel ban, as brought into notice in early November 2022 by a human rights organization. Morris has been under a constant threat of getting rearrested after her first arrest that took place on 7 November in front of her daughter, according to Freedom Initiative. Morris’ daughter was forcibly returned to her father, a Saudi citizen, despite the girl’s protest to stay with her mother. As per Freedom Initiative, Saudi authorities claimed that Morris was arrested for communicating with the media and
human rights organizations :''The list is incomplete; please add known articles or create missing ones'' The following is a list of articles on the human rights organisations of the world. It does not include political parties, or academic institutions. The list includes ...
since it was a “crime”. She did not receive any legal representation to help her case, as per reports.


Post-9/11 relationship

In April 2005, U.S. President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
and Crown Prince
Abdullah of Saudi Arabia Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, عبدالله بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود ''ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al ʿAzīz Āl Saʿūd'', Najdi Arabic pronunciation: ; 1 August 1924 – 23 January 2015) was King and Prime Minister of Saudi A ...
issued a statement hailing "our personal friendship and that between our nations." Saudi Arabia engaged the Washington, D.C.,
lobbying In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
firm of
Patton Boggs Squire Patton Boggs is an international law firm with 42 offices in 20 countries. It was formed in 2014 by the merger of multinational law firm Squire Sanders with Washington, D.C. based Patton Boggs. It is one of the 30 largest law firms in the ...
as registered foreign agents in the wake of the public relations disaster when knowledge of the identities of suspected hijackers became known. They also hired the PR and lobbying firm
Qorvis Qorvis Communications is an international Washington, D.C.-based public relations, advertising, media relations and crisis communications firm. It was acquired by the Publicis Groupe in January 2014, and became Qorvis/MSLGroup. Qorvis provides pu ...
for $14 million a year. Qorvis engaged in a PR frenzy that publicized the "9/11 Commission finding that there was 'no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded
l Qaeda L, or l, is the twelfth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''el'' (pronounced ), plural ''els''. History Lamedh ...
—while omitting the report's conclusion that 'Saudi Arabia has been a problematic ally in combating Islamic extremism.'" According to at least one journalist ( John R. Bradley), the ruling Saudi family was caught between depending for military defense on the United States, while also depending for domestic support on the Wahhabi religious establishment, which as a matter of religious doctrine "ultimately seeks the West's destruction", including that of its ruler's purported ally—the U.S. During the Iraq War, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, criticized the U.S.-led invasion as a "colonial adventure" aimed only at gaining control of Iraq's natural resources. But at the same time, Bradley writes, the Saudi government secretly allowed the U.S. military to "essentially" manage its air campaign and launch special operations against Iraq from inside Saudi borders, using "at least three" Saudi air bases. The two nations cooperate and share information about
al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...
and leaders from both countries continue to meet to discuss their mutual interests and bilateral relations. Saudi Arabia and the U.S. are strategic allies, and since President Obama took office in 2009, the U.S. has sold $110 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia. The National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013 began cooperating with the Saudi Ministry of Interior in an effort to help ensure "regime continuity". An April 2013 top secret memo shows the agency's program of providing "direct analytic and technical support" to the Saudis on "internal security" matters. The CIA had already been gathering intelligence for the regime long before. In January 2015, after the death of King Abdullah, the White House and President Obama praised him as a leader and mentioned "the importance of the U.S.–Saudi relationship as a force for stability and security in the Middle East and beyond." In March 2015, President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
declared that he had authorized U.S. forces to provide logistical and intelligence support to the Saudis in their
military intervention in Yemen A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
, establishing a "Joint Planning Cell" with Saudi Arabia. U.S. government lawyers have considered whether the United States is legally a "co-belligerent" in the conflict. Such a finding would oblige the U.S. to investigate allegations of war crimes by the Saudi coalition, and U.S. military personnel could be subject to prosecution. American journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote in October 2016: "From the start of the hideous Saudi bombing campaign against Yemen 18 months ago, two countries have played active, vital roles in enabling the carnage: the U.S. and U.K. The atrocities committed by the Saudis would have been impossible without their steadfast, aggressive support." In September 2016, Senators Rand Paul and
Chris Murphy Christopher Scott Murphy (born August 3, 1973) is an American lawyer, author, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Connecticut since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served in the United States H ...
worked to prevent the proposed sale of $1.15 billion in arms from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Senate voted 71 to 27 against the Murphy–Paul resolution to block the U.S.–Saudi arms deal. While the trade based relationship between the United States of America and Saudi Arabia is one that is vastly affected by political disagreements and positions, the trade has yet to cease since its conception. Relations between the two nations have never come to a complete halt throughout history due to the economic advantages both nations gain from one another. Statistically, the trade balance, using 2016 as a benchmark year, has declined to a deficit of 2.5 billion dollars over the 2017 year, popular opinion is that this exemplifies strong future relations between the two nations through the political and militaristic common grounds the United States has been developing with Saudi Arabia. Many experts believe the United States of America and Saudi Arabia are almost 'perfect' for trade due to oil being an essential commodity to the American people and the overall economy of the United States. In January 2017, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis "reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.–Saudi Arabia strategic relationship". Mattis has voiced support for a Saudi Arabian-led military campaign against Yemen's Shiite rebels. He asked the President to remove restrictions on U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia. On February 10, 2017, CIA director
Mike Pompeo Michael Richard Pompeo (; born December 30, 1963) is an American politician, diplomat, and businessman who served under President Donald Trump as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 2017 to 2018 and as the 70th United State ...
awarded the Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef with the CIA's "George Tenet" Medal. On February 19, 2021, U.S. Secretary of Defense
Lloyd Austin Lloyd James Austin III (born August 8, 1953) is a retired United States Army four-star general who, since his appointment on January 22, 2021, has served as the 28th United States secretary of defense. He is the first African American to serv ...
spoke to Saudi Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Pri ...
, saying that they "discussed the continued commitment to the 70-year US-Saudi security partnership". Austin expressed support for Saudi Arabia in the
Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict , width = , partof = the Arab Winter , image = Iran Saudi conflict 2022.png , image_size = 300px , caption ...
. In August 2021, President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan released a statement calling on OPEC+ to boost
oil production Petroleum is a fossil fuel that can be drawn from beneath the earth's surface. Reservoirs of petroleum was formed through the mixture of plants, algae, and sediments in shallow seas under high pressure. Petroleum is mostly recovered from oil dri ...
to "offset previous production cuts that OPEC+ imposed during the pandemic until well into 2022." On September 28, 2021, Sullivan met in Saudi Arabia with Saudi Crown Prince
Mohammed bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Pri ...
to discuss the high oil prices. In late 2021, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm blamed the OPEC oil cartel led by Saudi Arabia for rising motor fuel prices in the United States. As the ''Financial Times'' reported on November 4: "The White House has said OPEC+ risks imperiling the global economic recovery by refusing to speed up oil production increases and warned the U.S. was prepared to use ‘all tools’ necessary to lower fuel prices." In March 2022, Saudi Arabia declined requests from the United States to increase its
oil production Petroleum is a fossil fuel that can be drawn from beneath the earth's surface. Reservoirs of petroleum was formed through the mixture of plants, algae, and sediments in shallow seas under high pressure. Petroleum is mostly recovered from oil dri ...
. The U.S.-Saudi relations had been strained over the Biden administration's lack of support for the
Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen On 26 March 2015, Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries from Western Asia, West Asia and North Africa, launched an intervention in the Yemeni Civil War (2014–present), Yemeni Civil War in response to calls from the president ...
. In April 2022, CIA Director William Burns traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet with bin Salman, asking him to increase the country’s oil production. In October 2022 in response to cutting oil production despite American objections, Saudi Arabia implied the US was motivated by short-term political considerations of having lower gas prices during the midterm elections, while the US protested that Saudi Arabia was helping Russia's invasion of Ukraine by undermining sanctions, and US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said "we are re-evaluating our relationship with Saudi Arabia in light of these actions.”


Trade relations


Energy and oil

Saudi Arabia has been an enticing trade partner with the United States from the early 20th century. The biggest commodity traded between the two nations is petroleum. The strength of the relationship is notoriously attributed to the United States' demand on oil throughout the post modern era, approximately 10,000 barrels of petroleum are imported daily to United States since 2012 ("U.S. Total Crude Oil and Products Imports"). Saudi Arabia has consistently been in need of weapons, reinforcement, and arms due to the consistent rising tensions throughout the Middle East during the late 20th century and early 21st century. Post 2016, the United States of America has continued to trade with Saudi Arabia mainly for their oil related goods. The top exports of Saudi Arabia are Crude Petroleum ($96.1B), Refined Petroleum ($13B), Ethylene Polymers($10.1B), Propylene Polymers ($4.93B) and Ethers ($3.6B), using the 1992 revision of the HS (Harmonized System) classification. Its top imports are Cars ($11.8B), Planes, Helicopters, and/or Spacecraft ($3.48B), Packaged Medicaments ($3.34B), Broadcasting Equipment ($3.27B) and Aircraft Parts ($2.18B)". On August 9, 2020, Saudi Arabia announced that it would cut down on oil supply to the U.S. for the third time in one year, in an attempt to suppress stockpiles in the global oil market to rebalance the demand and supply. However, experts claim that the strategy worked in 2017 when the demand for oil was high and may bear challenges and risks at the present time, due to the impact of the ongoing coronavirus crisis on oil demand.


Recent years

In the year 2017, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was the United States of America's 20th ranked export market across the globe and ranked 21st in import markets. The most prominent goods set forth as exports to Saudi Arabia in the designated year (2017) were "aircraft ($3.6 billion), vehicles ($2.6 billion), machinery ($2.2 billion), electrical machinery ($1.6 billion), and arms and ammunition ($1.4 billion). In terms of statistics, the United States – Saudi Arabian trade declined approximately nine percent in U.S. exports in 2017 compared to the year prior; however, 2017 exemplified great reparation of the relationship through a 57% increase of exports from 2007. Imports between the two nations increased approximately 11 percent from 2017 to 2018, which is an overall decline of 47% since the year fiscal 2007. The entities that the United States of America seeks to import from Saudi Arabia has hardly changed over the years: "The top import categories (2-digit HS) in 2017 were: mineral fuels ($18 billion), organic chemicals ($303 million), special other (returns) ($247 million), aluminum ($164 million), and fertilizers ($148 million)".


Controversies

Saudi Arabia and the United States of America have never fully eliminated their trading agreements, however their relationship has experienced consistent disagreements through its history. In the height of the Syrian Civil War, which started in March 2011, Saudi Arabia expressed disapproval of the United States' lack of action in eradicating Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The United States' has consistently expressed disapproval of the treatment of
Saudi Arabian women Women's rights in Saudi Arabia are a topic of concern and controversy internationally. Saudi women have experienced major rights reforms since 2017, after facing religious fundamentalist dominance dating from 1979. According to Human Rig ...
within the confines of the Kingdom. The famous criticisms of the early 21st century behind the relationship between the two countries is due to the mix of the disregard of the aforementioned issues and the public knowledge that trade between Saudi Arabia and the United States has trended upwards in the post 9/11 world. In recent years, the imports and exports of U.S- Saudi trades have not shown a percentage increase each year, where it topped out around 2012 and has been in slight fluctuation since, but the overall trend of trade has shown a positive slope. In 2001: U.S. exports were at $5,957.60 and imports were at $13,272.20 (in millions of U.S. dollars) whereas, controversially as it is believed, in 2012 the United States witnessed $17,961.20 in exports and $55,667.00 in imports. The most damaging occurrence to ever affect the trade relationship between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. occurred on September 11, 2001, due to Saudi Arabia's believed involvement in the 9/11 attacks that occurred in multiple cities throughout the United States. Tensions also rose between the two nations throughout Barack Obama's presidency due to the United States agreement in Iran, when the U.S. removed oil sanctions on Iran and allowed them to sell their oil to the U.S. The relationship was also hindered by the oil market crash of 2014, propelled by increased
shale oil Shale oil is an unconventional oil produced from oil shale rock fragments by pyrolysis, hydrogenation, or thermal dissolution. These processes convert the organic matter within the rock (kerogen) into synthetic oil and gas. The resulting oil c ...
production in the United States, which in turn caused Saudi Arabian oil exports to decrease by nearly half. Oil prices went from around $110 a barrel prior to the 2014 crash, to about $27 a barrel by the beginning of 2016. This relationship worsened after the U.S. legislation passed a bill that allowed victims of the 9/11 attacks to sue the Saudi Arabian government for their losses in 2016. Saudi Arabia does not have an
extradition treaty Extradition is an action wherein one jurisdiction delivers a person accused or convicted of committing a crime in another jurisdiction, over to the other's law enforcement. It is a cooperative law enforcement procedure between the two jurisdic ...
with the United States. The Saudi government has on numerous occasions been actively involved with helping Saudi citizens flee the United States after they have committed serious crimes. In 2019, U.S. federal law enforcement officials launched an investigation into cases involving the disappearance of Saudi Arabian students from Oregon and other parts of the country, while they faced charges in the U.S. Amidst the investigation, it has been speculated that the Saudi government helped the students in escaping from the U.S. In October 2019, the U.S. Senate passed a bill by Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, requiring the FBI to declassify any information regarding Saudi Arabia's possible role. Oregon officials demand extradition of these suspects by Saudi Arabia since they were involved in violent crimes causing bodily harm and death. On September 25, 2020, the government of Saudi Arabia offered a
bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...
worth $500,000 as cashier's check to the
Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
County Sheriff Office from the Saudi Arabian consulate in Houston, Texas to bail out Omar Ba-Abbad, an
Uber Uber Technologies, Inc. (Uber), based in San Francisco, provides mobility as a service, ride-hailing (allowing users to book a car and driver to transport them in a way similar to a taxi), food delivery (Uber Eats and Postmates), pack ...
driver charged with the first-degree murder of a passenger in June 2020. Ba-Abbad was driving for a cab service provider, Uber, in June when he got into a fight with a passenger, Jeremy Shadrick. Ba-Abbad ran over Shadrick in the fight, killing him as a result. Ba-Abbad has claimed in his defense that his act was out of
self-defense Self-defense (self-defence primarily in Commonwealth English) is a countermeasure that involves defending the health and well-being of oneself from harm. The use of the right of self-defense as a legal justification for the use of force in ...
. However, the
District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...
contradicted his claim with video evidence proving otherwise.


Notable diplomatic visits

After President George W. Bush's two visits to Saudi Arabia in 2008—which was the first time a U.S. president visited a foreign country twice in less than four months—and King Abdullah's three visits to the U.S.—2002, 2005 and 2008—the relations have surely reached their peak. The two nations have expanded their relationship beyond oil and counter terrorism efforts. For example, King Abdullah has allocated funds for young Saudis to study in the United States. One of the most important reasons that King Abdullah has given full scholarships to young Saudis is to give them western perspective and to impart a positive impression of Saudi Arabia on the American people. On the other hand, President Bush discussed the world economic crisis and what the U.S.–Saudi relationship can do about it. During meetings with the Saudis, the Bush Administration took the Saudi policies very seriously because of their prevalent economic and defensive presence in the region and its great media influence on the Islamic world. By and large, the two leaders have made many decisions that deal with security, economics, and business aspects of the relationship, making it in the top of its fame. In early 2018, the Crown Prince
Mohammad bin Salman Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud ( ar, محمد بن سلمان آل سعود, translit=Muḥammad bin Salmān Āl Su‘ūd; born 31 August 1985), colloquially known by his initials MBS or MbS, is Crown Prince and Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia. H ...
visited the United States where he met with many top politicians, business people and Hollywood stars, including President Donald Trump,
Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pla ...
and Hillary Clinton, Henry Kissinger,
Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American business magnate and philanthropist. He is a co-founder of Microsoft, along with his late childhood friend Paul Allen. During his career at Microsoft, Gates held the positions ...
, Jeff Bezos and
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
.


2017 U.S.–Saudi arms deal

U.S. President Donald Trump authorized a nearly $110B arms deal with Saudi Arabia, worth $300B over a ten-year period, signed on the May 20, 2017, this includes training and close co-operation with the Saudi Arabian military. Signed documents included letters of interest and letters of intent and no actual contracts. U.S. defense stocks reached all-time highs after Donald J. Trump announced a $110 billion arms deal to Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia signed billions of dollars of deals with U.S. companies in the
arms industry The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry which manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commercial industry involved in the research and development, engineering, production, and servi ...
and petroleum industry, including Lockheed Martin,
Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and produc ...
, Raytheon, General Dynamics, Northrop Grumman, General Electric,
Exxon Mobil ExxonMobil Corporation (commonly shortened to Exxon) is an American multinational oil and gas corporation headquartered in Irving, Texas. It is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil, and was formed on November 3 ...
,
Halliburton Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation responsible for most of the world's hydraulic fracturing operations. In 2009, it was the world's second largest oil field service company. It has operations in more than 70 countrie ...
,
Honeywell Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
,
McDermott International McDermott International, Ltd is a global provider of engineering and construction solutions to the energy industry. Operating in over 54 countries, McDermott has more than 40,000 employees, as well as a diversified fleet of specialty marine co ...
, Jacobs Engineering Group,
National Oilwell Varco NOV Inc., formerly National Oilwell Varco, is an American multinational corporation based in Houston, Texas. It is a worldwide provider of equipment and components used in oil and gas drilling and production operations, oilfield services, an ...
,
Nabors Industries Nabors Industries Limited is an American global oil and gas drilling contractor that has operated since 1972. Based in Houston, Texas, Nabors owns the largest land drilling fleet in the world with approximately 400 rigs in more than 20 countrie ...
,
Weatherford International Weatherford International plc, an American Irish public limited company, together with its subsidiaries, is a multinational oilfield service company and one of the largest companies in the world in oil services. Weatherford is a wellbore and p ...
, Schlumberger and Dow Chemical. In August 2018, a laser-guided Mark 82 bomb sold by the U.S. and built by Lockheed Martin was used in the Saudi-led coalition airstrike on a school bus in Yemen, which killed 51 people, including 40 children. On May 27, 2020,
Bob Menendez Robert Menendez (; born January 1, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2006. Gale Biography In Context. A member of the Democratic Party, he was firs ...
, a Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee claimed during a
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by t ...
op-ed that the
Trump Trump most commonly refers to: * Donald Trump (born 1946), 45th president of the United States (2017–2021) * Trump (card games), any playing card given an ad-hoc high rank Trump may also refer to: Businesses and organizations * Donald J. T ...
administration had been covertly working on plans of initiating a new sale of weapons contract worth $1.8 billion to Saudi Arabia. According to a draft version of the legislation reviewed by the
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by t ...
, the Democratic Senators
Robert Menendez Robert Menendez (; born January 1, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from New Jersey, a seat he has held since 2006. Gale Biography In Context. A member of the Democratic Party, he was first ...
, Patrick Leahy and
Tim Kaine Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgi ...
were planning to introduce a legislation that put strict human rights constraints on the United States foreign arms sales, in the wake of the arms sold in the past by U.S. to countries with poor human rights records like, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. President Donald Trump has also received wide criticism for declaring emergency to bypass the opposition, to sell weapons worth billions of dollars to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, accused for conducting war crimes.

See also

* Embassy of Saudi Arabia, Washington, D.C. *
Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia Foreign relations of Saudi Arabia are the diplomatic and trade relations between Saudi Arabia and other countries around the world. The foreign policy of Saudi Arabia is focused on co-operation with the oil-exporting Gulf States, the unity o ...
* Foreign relations of the United States *
Saudi Arabia lobby in the United States The Saudi Arabia lobby in the United States is a collection of lawyers, public relation firms and professional lobbyists paid directly by the government of Saudi Arabia to lobby the public and government of the United States on behalf of the interes ...
* List of ambassadors of the United States to Saudi Arabia * Withdrawal of United States troops from Saudi Arabia *
Saudi Americans Saudi Americans ( ar, سعوديون أمريكيون lit. ''So’odioon Amricioon'') are Americans of total or partial Saudi descent. According to the 2000 census, 7,419 people of Saudi origin were living in the United States of America (USA). I ...
* Walid Fitaihi


References


Further reading

* Anderson, Irvine H. ''Aramco, the United States, and Saudi Arabia'' (Princeton University Press, 2014). * Beling, Willard A. ed. ''King Faisal and the Modernisation Of Saudi Arabia'' (2019). * Blanchard, Christopher M. "Saudi Arabia: background and U.S. relations." ''Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports and Issue Briefs'' (U.S. Congressional Research Service, 2020
online
U.S. government document (not copyright); 22,700 words. * Bronson, Rachel, ''Thicker than Oil: America's Uneasy Partnership with Saudi Arabia'' (Oxford University Press, 2006
excerpt
* Cordesman, Anthony H. ''Saudi Arabia: Guarding the desert kingdom'' (1997). * Evers, Miles M. (2022).
Discovering the prize: information, lobbying, and the origins of US–Saudi security relations
. ''European Journal of International Relations.'' * Ghattas, Kim. ''Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East'' (2020)
excerpt
* Hart, Parker T. ''Saudi Arabia and the United States'' (Indiana UP, 1998
online
* Hiro, Dilip. ''Cold War in the Islamic World: Saudi Arabia, Iran And The Struggle For Supremacy.'' (2019
excerpt
* Koelbl, Susanne. ''Behind the Kingdom's Veil: Inside the New Saudi Arabia Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman'' (2020
excerpt
* Lacey, Robert. ''The Kingdom: Arabia and the House of Saud'' (1981)
online
I * Lippman, Thomas W. ''Inside the Mirage: America's Fragile Partnership with Saudi Arabia'' (2005) * Long, David E. ''The United States and Saudi Arabia: Ambivalent Allies'' (Routledge, 2019)
excerpt
* McFarland, Victor. ''Oil Powers: A History of the U.S.-Saudi Alliance'' (2020
online review
als
excerpt
* Mackintosh-Smith, Tim. ''Arabs: A 3,000-Year History of Peoples, Tribes and Empires'' (Yale UP, 2019) * Parker, Chad. ''Making the Desert Modern: Americans, Arabs, and Oil on the Saudi Frontier, 1933–1973'' (U of Massachusetts Press, 2015). * Riedel, Bruce. ''Kings and presidents: Saudi Arabia and the United States since FDR'' (Brookings Institution Press, 2019)_. * Vitalis, Robert. ''America's Kingdom: Mythmaking on the Saudi Oil Frontier'' (Stanford University Press, 2006)
excerpt


External links


History of Saudi Arabia – U.S. relations

Embassy of Saudi Arabia- Washington, DC

Embassy of U.S.A. – Riyadh

Consulate General of U.S.A. – Dhahran

Consulate General of U.S.A. – Jeddah

Odah Sultan Odah, ''Saudi-American Relations 1968–1972''

Saudi Arabia: Background and U.S. Relations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saudi Arabia-United States relations United States Bilateral relations of the United States