The U.S. has proven itself to be an unreliable partner for the Saudis. The post Why Riyadh Won’t Be Forced Into Israel’s Arms appeared first on The American Conservative .
Foreign Affairs Foreign Affairs Why Riyadh Won’t Be Forced Into Israel’s Arms The U.S. has proven itself to be an unreliable partner for the Saudis. Photo by LOU BENOIST / POOL / AFP via Getty Images The Yemeni militant group Ansar Allah, known as the Houthis, has been striking Saudi Arabia again. President Donald Trump reportedly rebuffed Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s request for the U.S. to join the war against the group. In the neoconservative commentariat, the knives came out—not for Trump, not for the Houthis, but for MbS. The pressure comes on the heels of a recent Saudi strategy to diversify its relationships—the China-brokered détente with Iran , the refusal to unconditionally normalize relations with Israel…Open
State of the Union: A Monday meeting between Gulf nations and Iran about opening the Strait of Hormuz was postponed. The post Iran War Day 199: Trump Says U.S. Might ‘Stay and Keep the Oil’ in Iran appeared first on The American Conservative .
President Donald Trump said that the U.S. would consider a permanent interest in Iran’s oil industry during his Sunday remarks to the press in Ireland. “We’ll ultimately get out unless we decide to stay and keep the oil, like Venezuela,” Trump told reporters. He also repeated the assertion that the Iran War would end after the American midterm elections, after which “oil prices will come tumbling down.” Trump also reiterated his intention to avoid intervening in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis, who made significant territorial gains against the internationally recognized Yemeni government last week, increasing their capacity to threaten Red Sea shipping and roil energy markets. “Well, I have had a…Open
State of the Union: President Trump declined, later telling reporters everything will be “fine and dandy.” The post Iran War Day 197: Saudi Crown Prince Urged Trump to Join Yemen War appeared first on The American Conservative .
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), in two phone calls Thursday, urged President Donald Trump to launch strikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, Axios reported Friday. Trump is reported to have declined, though the commander of U.S. Central Command traveled to Saudi Arabia Thursday for meetings. Trump told reporters Saturday that the Houthis “called us, and they don’t want to fight with us.” The president confirmed the conversation with “good friend” MBS but gave no indication of urgency. “I can just say everything’s going to work out fine and dandy,” he added. “It’s going to be very good.” The Houthis in recent days seized strategic territory closer to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key chokepoint for…Open
The agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan may herald a new Middle East. The post What the Mecca Defense Pact Means appeared first on The American Conservative .
Foreign Affairs What the Mecca Defense Pact Means The agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan may herald a new Middle East. On August 7, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met in the holy city of Mecca to sign a new trilateral defense pact . The birth of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement is a significant geopolitical event. It brings together into a security alliance three of the largest and most influential countries in the Middle East. Turkey has the second-largest army in NATO. Pakistan is the only Muslim nation to possess a nuclear arsenal. And Saudi Arabia is a leading oil producer with near-limitless wealth. Though the full text of…Open
State of the Union: An Iranian attack destroyed three buildings in Tel Aviv, according to Israeli media. The post Iran War Enters 25th Day: Tehran Denied Having ‘Productive’ Talks with U.S. appeared first on The American Conservative .
The Iran War entered its 25th day on Tuesday as Israeli strikes hit energy and water infrastructure across Iran overnight. The strikes come less than a week after President Donald Trump told the Israelis not to repeat strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure. That followed Israeli strikes on the South Pars Gas field, which triggered costly retaliatory strikes from Iran. Iran’s Fars News said strikes on Isfahan damaged a gas administration building and a gas reduction station, along with nearby homes. In Khorramshahr, a projectile reportedly struck the area around a power plant gas line. Iranian media said a desalination facility and the adjacent meteorological office in Bushehr were also hit. Israeli Channel 12 reported at least three…Open