Trump started Project Freedom, by which American ships and planes were to escort ships safely through the Strait of Hormuz, but after one day, he had to close it down. Now we know why: Saudi Arabia denied the American military the use of the Prince Sultan Airbase and of Saudi airspace. More on this latest display of Saudi double-dealing can be found here: “Saudi pressure forced Trump to halt Strait of Hormuz escort mission – report,” by Goldie Katz, Jerusalem Post, May 7, 2026:
US President Donald Trump’s decision to pause a US operation to guide ships through the Strait of Hormuz came as a result of pressure from Saudi Arabia, according to an NBC News report citing two US officials.
According to the officials, the US’s allies among the Gulf states were surprised by Trump’s Sunday announcement of Project Freedom, which was launched on Monday.
Saudi Arabian leadership informed the US that it would not allow US military aircraft to fly from the Saudi Prince Sultan Airbase or through Saudi airspace to carry out the effort to escort stranded vessels out of the strait, the report continued.
Trump attempted to resolve the issue with a call to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to no avail, the officials stated. Trump was then forced to halt the effort in order to regain US military access to the strategically critical airspace.
During the US’s Operation Epic Fury against Iran and before the ongoing temporary US-Iran ceasefire, Saudi Arabia allowed the US to fly aircraft from the Prince Sultan Airbase, at which the US military maintains fighter aircraft and air defenses.
One US official emphasized the importance of Saudi cooperation on operations in the area, telling NBC that due to the geography of the region, in some cases, utilizing an ally’s airspace is the only option….
In a statement regarding Gulf allies being caught off guard by the announcement of Project Freedom, a White House official stated that “regional allies were notified in advance.”
I believe the Americans, not the Saudis, when Washington says it notified the Gulf Arab states in advance of the decision to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
A Middle Eastern diplomat, however, said that the US did not try to coordinate on the operation with Oman until after the announcement. “The US made an announcement and then coordinated with us,” he said, noting that Omani officials “were not upset or angry.”
Why did the Saudis, who had allowed the Americans to use the Prince Sultan Airbase, and their air space, during Operation Epic Fury, now change their minds and deny them that use? There are several reasons for this. First, when Operation Epic Fury began, the Saudis had thought the Americans would keep fighting until the Iranian regime collapsed. That did not occur, and Trump keeps saying that “regime change was never the goal.”
Now the rulers in Tehran, members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, are said to be even more extreme than were the slain Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his associates. In the past, the Iranians were able to hit Saudi oil installations, and could do so again. The Saudis now know they will have to live with the current regime in Tehran, and for obvious reasons, they don’t want to antagonize those in control in Iran. Second, the Saudis are not as dependent on the Strait of Hormuz being opened than are the other Gulf Arab states. They have an alternate way to export much of their oil. Since March 2026, Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline (Petroline) has been operating at its full capacity, transporting approximately 7 million barrels of oil per day (bpd) to Red Sea ports such as Yanbu. This oil effectively bypasses the Strait of Hormuz. None of the other Gulf Arab states — the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait — has an alternative to exporting through the Strait of Hormuz. Third, the Saudis are not unhappy that the other oil states will not be able to use the Strait of Hormuz. This makes Saudi oil exports, made possible by the pipeline that delivers oil to Saudi ports on the Red Sea, still more valuable to customers worldwide. Especially welcome to Riyadh is the inability of its rival the UAE, which has quit OPEC and with new investments in oilfields expects by 2027 to produce five million barrels a day, compared to four million in 2024, but unless the Strait of Hormuz opens it will be unable to export it.
While Trump has denounced some countries in Europe — Spain, Germany, the U.K. — for refusing to allow American planes to use bases in their countries for missions against Iran, Washington has been silent about the Saudis’ refusal to let American planes use airbases in the Kingdom, and Saudi airspace, to attack Iran. The Saudis, now that they are convinced regime change in Iran is not going to take place, are doing their best to repair relations with Iran by refusing to cooperate with Washington. In what sense, one has to ask, is Saudi Arabia still an ally of the United States?
Patrick says
When will President Trump and administration, realize, a united Islamic Front/global jihad, world caliphate is what they’re facing? The only thing Islam understands is a greater power, one that I hope, obliterates all Mullahs and the IRGC. Allow Israel to wipe out Hamas in GAZA.
OLD GUY says
And here I thought that Saudi Arabia was an ally and friend of America. Not really.
gravenimage says
They never have been.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Under MbS, they have been less pro-jihad than they used to be: they’ve stopped preaching Jew hatred in their madrassas, and they’ve stopped bankrolling dawa projects and mosques, especially outside their country. They’ve banned Tabhlighi Jamaat in their country, and had their rift w/ Qatar precisely over the latter’s backing of the muslim brotherhood. All that said, of late, they’ve been reverting to some of their old policies, such as recently signing on a defense alliance w/ Turkey & Pakistan
It used to be much worse under kings Fahd and Abdullah, but in that era, no US president – from Bush 41 to Obama – said anything to them. Obama made them nervous by warming up to the islamic regime across the Gulf, but even he tried to protect the classified part of the 9/11 report from coming out. That’s one reason I’ve not gone completely on-board on ostracizing Riyadh, given that they used to be far worse under their previous rulers, and our policies at that time was to treat them w/ kid gloves. If we turned on them now, Riyadh could misinterpret it as our preferring their old Wahabi-affiliated policies to the MbS inspired reforms
Horatio says
Trump’s decision to sell our F35 fighter planes to Saudi Arabia seems to have been ill- conceived to say the least. Insane would be a better term. What do you think?
thomas r Parry says
It was ok only if we made a huge amount of money. IT APPEAEARS THE ONLY FRIENDLY COUNTRY IS ISREAL, the rest just blow with the wind.
gravenimage says
It is never a good idea to sell weapons to those who hate you, regardless of the money.
ploome says
dealing with muslims is stepping onto “stuff”
Patton says
We cannot ever assume that any of them will ever be all in when it comes to supporting us, Israel, and perhaps other western allies. This is a strategic marriage of convenience. It’s nothing more. They are not our friends. They do not share the same goals. Their political philosophy is not confluent with our own. At the end of the day is slum shit supremacy is always their ultimate goal. They don’t wanna be westernized. They don’t wanna have a representative form of Republican government. They don’t want to be tolerant of their religions. They don’t want equal rights for women. They don’t want basic individual rights for everyone. They’re never going to embrace our principles and values, particularly from a biblical, Judeo-Christian perspective. In short there better than the scumbags in Tehran, but not much
Rabbi Menashe Bovit says
With the exception of the UAE, America has no Muslim allies. They are at best “frienemies”. America only has one true ally in the world, the State of Israel.
gravenimage says
Not sure about the UAE, either… proceed with caution.
JustPassingThru says
Trump’s weakness is he believes you can negotiate with Tehran, the local Muslim nations know that the current regime controlling Iran has to be destroyed entirely, negotiations only give them time to strategize.
ploome says
treaties with infidels
https://web.archive.org/web/20000816205526/http://www.islaam.com/articles/treaty.htm
gravenimage says
Yep–just a “Hudna” while they rearm at best. Muslims can break a treaty whenever it benfits them.
Beans🫘 says
Trump doesn’t have a choice. The regime don’t collapse as thy thought. If they wipe out the economy, irgc will fracture and begin piracy terrorism on the Hormuz.
The economy of the world goes into depression.
The USA acually has more stored oil than ever before, counting private and government. But they are hoarding it, and selling it to Asia, China who is also hoarding right now.
Your gas price is high because of corporate hoarding. The consumer here is outbid by foreigners, so if the strait closes down for good, that oil isn’t really ours, and gas prices go 8, 9 , 10 a gallon.
You are right, Iran is hoarding time. They are betting on democrats, the election and high gas prices. President will have a 90 day limit for this. If this goes to the election, republicans will be swept out.
Iran has leverage. And we are stuck in the mud.
Tony says
Sunni Muslims(eg. Saudi Arabia, Turkey, etc.) can be against Shia Muslims(eg. Iran), but BOTH Muslims are partners against Non-Muslims like America, Israel, the West, etc. as taught by Allah in Islam’s Qur’an(Qur’an 9:5, 29, 111; 49:15, etc.). Allah in Qur’an 5:51 says, “O you who have believed[Muslims], DO NOT TAKE the Jews and the Nasara(Christians) as friends. They are friends to one another. And whoever among you takes them as friends, so surely he is of them. Surely Allah does not guide the unjust people.” Also, Allah in Qur’an 5:82 says that Jews are the worst enemies of the Muslims.
Cynthia says
Spot on! These Islamic countries are using us for business/defense, but will never be true allies. The Sunni alliance will rise up against us with our own weapons when they feel they are strong enough to defeat the west.
The Gulf states don’t want a wounded Iran that only has revenge on its mind.
Either Iran has to be free of the current regime, or treated as an ally.
No alliances hold in Islam. There is only deception and temporary truces.
We should have learned that by now.
GE says
Said it before and I’ll say it again:
Saudis are NOT our friends.
No Muslim country is.
࿗Infidel࿘ says
Precisely! Yet here we (as in the US) are, belaboring under the illusion that Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar… are our allies
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I doubt that anyone thinks that this regime in Iran is there to stay. If we won’t help completely topple them, the Israelis will. Although I do understand one thing about the Saudis: that they are nervous about this thing being dragged out long enough to give Trump enough time to extort them and their neighbors for even more cash
But we can then say that we’ll no longer help protect the Saudis from IRGC drone or missile attacks. Also, the Petroline doesn’t move all, or even most Saudi oil to the Red Sea: only some of it. Anything that the Saudis want to ship to Asia, they either have to use the Straits of Hormuz – threatened by the Houthis as well as the Somalis, or they’d have to use Hormuz. Unless they can get either Yemen or Oman to allow a pipeline to one of their ports, whence they can ship to Asia or Africa
࿗Infidel࿘ says
I meant they’d either have to use the Strait of Hormuz, or the Bab el Mandab – the waterway b/w Yemen and Djibouti, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden
Walter Sieruk says
Regardless of what the king of Saudi Arabia may agree to or not agree to ., Project Freedom should continue.
For those disingenuous and outright liars who are still in power in that “mullah regime” of Iran .They will have no intention of keeping any of their promises in any so called “deal” that they might sign. such a “deal “would be hoax played on the United States.
So, let’s get it over with by finishing the job, Which really should be to eliminate that dangerous and hostile menacing tyrannical Islamic regime of Iran ,once and for all, As it has been rightly and wisely said “Half. measures in war is madness and folly.”
David Rice says
From Grok: Yes, it happened just days ago. Saudi Arabia told the U.S. it could not use Prince Sultan Air Base or Saudi airspace for Trump’s “Project Freedom” operation to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz. 
This was reported on May 6–7, 2026, by NBC News citing U.S. officials, and confirmed by the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, and others. The Saudis were caught off guard by the announcement and didn’t want to escalate with Iran. A phone call between Trump and Crown Prince MBS didn’t immediately fix it, so the operation was paused.
Update as of today (May 7–8): Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have since lifted those restrictions, restoring U.S. access to the base and airspace. 
Here’s where Prince Sultan Air Base is located, southeast of Riyadh:
Name says
Its all about the money. At over $100 a barrel the Saudis want this to last a very long time.
Major Tom says
Saudi Arabia is a two faced ally that cannot be trusted……..
gravenimage says
Saudis Refused American Use of Prince Sultan Airbase and Its Airspace for Project Freedom
……………………………………
This should surprise *no one*.
Andrew Blackadder says
Why are there more American Troops protecting the International Borders of countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar etc than there are protecting the International Borders of America ?.
Not a trick question.
Saudi and all those other mega rich Middle Eastern Kingdoms could afford to create their own fighting forces by employing Mercenaries looking for a fight to fight and stop using the youth of America to do the fighting for them.
Do Americans know that Saudi BEHEADS people for being homosexual, adultery or practicing and converting to a religion other than islam.
These muslim men are walking around in a long white evening gown while the women walk around in a black garbage bag in the Desert with Temps as high as 130f/50c and the America Taxpayer is protecting them for their enemies… What is wrong with this situation ?.
Ralph says
The USA long has misinterpreted its role vis a vis Saudi Arabia. We are their CUSTOMERS, not their ALLIES. It’s best we sever all consumer relations with this untrustworthy (as are they all) Muslim nation. We have more than enough domestic oil and with Venezuelan oil we are totally independent of anyone else’s oil; Saudi Arabia included.