How US-Saudi Relations Are Strained by Oil and Distrust

More than seven decades ago, the US and Saudi Arabia, despite differences on human rights and the Arab-Israeli conflict, established a close alliance. It was based on an exchange: The US gave security guarantees to Saudi rulers, and they promised access to the kingdom’s vast oil reserves. The arrangement has withstood periodic conflicts over the years. Of late, however, the relationship’s moorings have weakened, with the US no longer as dependent on Saudi oil and the Saudis less trusting of US protection. As a result, disputes that once might have been papered over can now seem like potential ruptures.

It is strained, most recently over the price of oil. By constraining production, Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest exporter of crude oil, has kept prices high, contributing to inflation around the world. At the start of April, the Saudi-led Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced a surprise production cut of more than 1 million barrels a day. When OPEC in October announced the biggest cutback in output since 2020, US President Joe Biden treated the move as a betrayal by the Saudis and threatened unspecified consequences.