A former Saudi intelligence official has said that Saudi Arabia feels “let down” down by the United States’ (US) lack of support for the Kingdom’s security concerns, particularly with regard to the Yemen war.
During an interview with Arab News, Turki al-Faisal, who is also a member of the Saudi royal family and a former ambassador to the US, said that Saudi Arabia is deeply concerned over President Joe Biden’s policies. “Saudis feel let down at a time when they believe the US and Saudi Arabia should be together facing threats to the stability and security of the Gulf region,” he mentioned.
Al-Faisal was referring to the increasing influence of Iran in the region and its continued support for Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have been fighting a war against the Saudi-led coalition since 2015. “The fact that President Biden delisted the Houthis from the terrorist list has emboldened them and made them even more aggressive in their attacks on Saudi Arabia, as well as on the UAE,” the Saudi royal said, referring to the February 2021 decision by the Biden administration to revoke the US designation of the Houthis as a terrorist organisation.
Saying that Riyadh has always considered its ties with Washington to be “strategic” in nature, Al-Faisal said that Saudis feel betrayed by the US’ recent actions. “We’ve had our ups and downs over the years and perhaps, at this time, it’s one of the downs, particularly since the president of the US, in his election campaign, said that he will make Saudi Arabia a pariah,” he remarked.
He added that Biden’s decision at one point to stop US joint operations with Saudi Arabia and withdraw anti-missile systems from the Kingdom at the height of Houthi drone and missile attacks shocked Riyadh. Furthermore, the US President’s refusal to meet with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) was seen as a rebuke by a lot of Saudis.
#FranklySpeaking: Do #Saudis feel betrayed by US withdrawal of Patriot batteries and delisting #Houthis as a terrorist org.? Here’s what Prince Turki Al Faisal had to say | Full episode: https://t.co/q0Te4diZ49
— Arab News (@arabnews) May 2, 2022
@kfrcis pic.twitter.com/VuBzex8suI
He stressed that Riyadh had “all the time” been calling for a peaceful solution to the Yemen conflict and blamed the Houthis for ignoring Saudi peace efforts. “And, as we see now, there is a supposed ceasefire established by the UN, but the Houthis continue to infringe on that ceasefire and to take advantage of the ceasefire to reposition their forces and replenish them,” Al-Faisal claimed.
He said that Riyadh needed Washington’s help at that time, which he said never came. He noted that while American officials have been eager to express support for Saudi Arabia, this has not translated into action that the Kingdom could rely on. “We are grateful for those statements, but we need to see more in terms of the relationship between the two leaderships,” he said.
When asked about whether Saudi Arabia is responsible for the oil problems currently faced by the US, including rising gas prices, Al-Faisal retorted that the US itself is to blame.
#FranklySpeaking: Could the #Saudi refusal to up oil production be read as siding with #Russia? Here’s Prince Turki Al Faisal analysis on the Kingdom’s position | Full episode: https://t.co/q0Te4diZ49 pic.twitter.com/5QIBqDET4f
— Arab News (@arabnews) May 1, 2022
“President Biden made it a policy of the US government to cut all links to what is called the oil and gas industry. He curtailed oil production and gas production in the US [when] it had been, in the last few years, the biggest producer of these two energy sources,” he emphasised. This, he said, was at least partly responsible for lifting the price of oil.
Moreover, Al-Faisal condemned recent remarks by former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who accused Saudi Arabia last month of siding with Russia and refusing to pump more oil in order to alleviate the US’ energy crisis. Clinton called for Washington to adopt a “carrot and stick” policy to force Riyadh to increase its share of oil production.
#FranklySpeaking: ‘We are not school children,’ #Saudi Prince Turki Al-Faisal rebuffs recent @HillaryClinton’s ‘carrot and stick’ policy on dealing with Kingdom | Full episode: https://t.co/q0Te4diZ49
— Arab News (@arabnews) May 2, 2022
@kfrcis pic.twitter.com/FMYYcqijPV
“We are not schoolchildren to be treated with a carrot and stick. We are a sovereign country, and when we are dealt with fairly and squarely, we respond likewise,” he underscored, adding, “It is unfortunate that such statements are made by politicians wherever they may be. I hope that the relationship of the Kingdom and the US will not hinge around or be built upon that principle.”
He also rejected the charge that the Kingdom is supporting Russian President Vladimir Putin in the ongoing war in Ukraine. He pointed out that Saudi Arabia has publicly declared its support for Ukraine and voted to condemn Russian aggression in the UN General Assembly.
Further noting that since Saudi Arabia has offered to mediate between Ukraine and Russia, he said that Riyadh “will have to maintain a link and the ability to talk to both sides.” He went on to say that the mediation effort is an “offer of a friend to friends — both Ukraine and Russia — (with) whom we have had excellent relations in the recent past.”
He simultaneously criticised Western “double standards” when it came to dealing with the Ukraine crisis. Al-Faisal referred to the West’s preferential treatment of Ukrainian refugees compared to refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. He also criticised the West for not imposing sanctions on Israel for mistreating the Palestinians the same way it imposed sanctions on Russia. “Aggression is aggression, whether it is committed by Russia or by Israel,” he stated.
Al-Faisal’s comments come as Saudi Arabia’s ties with the US have reached a “breaking point” due to bickering over various issues, including the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the Iran nuclear deal, and the war in Yemen.
In 2021, a US intelligence report released by the Biden administration accused MBS of approving Khashoggi’s assassination. The document said that the Crown Prince had “absolute control” of the Saudi security apparatus, which made it unlikely that Saudi officials had carried out the killing without his authorisation.
Soon after, US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken announced the “Khashoggi Ban,” a new directive aimed at imposing visa restriction policies on individuals engaging in “counter-dissident activities” on behalf of a foreign government. As part of this policy, the US government-imposed travel restrictions on 76 Saudi officials believed to have played a role in Khashoggi’s murder. Riyadh, however, has fiercely denied claims that the Crown Prince was involved.
In a recent interview with The Atlantic, MBS was asked whether Biden had “misunderstood” him over the Khashoggi killing, to which he replied, “Simply, I do not care.” The Crown prince underlined that alienating Saudi Arabia will only hurt the US in the long term. He also underscored that the death of Khashoggi was a “huge mistake,” adding that he is doing everything to prevent such a tragedy from happening again.
Saudi Arabia’s growing rift with the US is also reflected in the Kingdom’s growing ties with China. In fact, Riyadh has become Beijing’s top oil supplier. Moreover, Saudi Arabia has even been considering accepting the yuan for its oil sales to China instead of the US dollar, a potentially disastrous move for Washington’s global dominance.
China imports around 16% of its crude oil from the Kingdom. Furthermore, China imports 25% of Saudi Arabia’s total oil exports. Chinese oil companies have also signed several agreements with Aramco for supplying new refineries and petrochemical plants in China.
Saudi Arabia and China have also increased their strategic convergence. In August 2020, the Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia has signed a deal with China to construct a facility for the extraction of uranium yellowcake, reportedly in a bid to advance the Kingdom’s nuclear technology facilities. Furthermore, in December, US intelligence agencies reported that Saudi Arabia is manufacturing ballistic missiles with the help of China. Per reports, Riyadh has “sought help” from the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, the Chinese military’s missile branch, to assist with the production.