Background: Strains and Change in U.S.-Saudi Relations, 1990-2022
U.S.-Saudi ties deepened during the Cold War, rooted in common interests in securing Saudi oil resources and
shared official antipathy toward the Soviet Union and communism. Arab-Israeli wars limited U.S.-Saudi partnership,
but successive U.S. Administrations expanded U.S.-Saudi defense cooperation in the wake of the 1973 Arab-Israeli
war and Saudi-led oil embargo, in spite of some congressional opposition. The U.S. defense of Saudi Arabia and
neighboring Kuwait from Iraqi forces in 1990 and 1991 saw hundreds of thousands of U.S. military forces deploy
to the kingdom, with thousands remaining through the 1990s at the invitation of Saudi leaders. The U.S. presence
drew condemnation from some Saudi Islamists, nationalists, and extremists, some of whom also voiced opposition
to the Al Saud family’s rule. Terrorists attacked facilities hosting U.S. government personnel in the kingdom in
November 1995 and June 1996, killing and injuring U.S. civilian and military personnel.
Some Saudi nationals’ leadership and participation in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States
and some Saudis’ support for transnational Islamist extremism led many Americans to scrutinize U.S.-Saudi ties
during President George W. Bush’s Administration. Saudi leaders and some Saudi citizens similarly reexamined the
bilateral relationship in light of the U.S. decision to invade Iraq in 2003 and U.S. support to Israel in the context of
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. U.S.-Saudi counterterrorism cooperation under Presidents Bush and Obama helped
Saudi Arabia defeat a years-long campaign of insurgent terrorism and contributed to U.S. and coalition efforts to
undermine transnational terrorist threats and prevent attacks by Al Qaeda and the Islamic State organization.
During President Barack Obama’s tenure, the United States and Saudi leaders responded dissimilarly to popular
unrest in the Middle East. Saudi leaders grew critical of U.S. policy toward Iran and opposed the Joint
Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear agreement. At Saudi Arabia’s request, the Obama Administration
in March 2015 initiated U.S. military support to Saudi-led coalition military operations in Yemen against the Houthi
movement, including the provision of aerial refueling, intelligence, and military advice. President Obama reduced
some U.S. support after Saudi-led coalition operations continued to cause civilian casualties.
President Donald Trump was explicit about his desire to strengthen ties to Saudi leaders, and the Trump
Administration opposed various congressional proposals to limit U.S. arms sales to the kingdom or to end U.S.
military support to Saudi-led coalition operations in Yemen. As congressional opposition to U.S. support for Saudi
operations in Yemen grew, the Trump Administration halted U.S. refueling of Saudi-led coalition aircraft and
pressed Saudi counterparts to respect the law of armed conflict and allow greater humanitarian access to Yemen.
Following Saudi officials’ October 2018 murder of Saudi journalist and U.S. O-visa holder Jamal Khashoggi in the
Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, Trump Administration officials reiterated U.S. concerns about human rights
issues, imposed sanctions on some Saudi officials, and pledged continued investigation and advocacy on cases of
human rights concern. Some proposals in Congress have called for more tangible changes to the U.S.-Saudi
relationship and for specific consequences for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman after the U.S. Director of
National Intelligence reported to Congress in February 2021 that the Crown Prince “approved” an operation “to
capture or kill” Khashoggi.
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Saudi officials disputed the report’s conclusions.
The Trump Administration engaged Saudi officials in civil nuclear cooperation talks and insisted that the kingdom
forgo acquisition of nuclear fuel cycle technologies that could increase nuclear weapons proliferation concerns. In
2019, President Trump deployed U.S. military personnel and assets to Saudi Arabia in response to escalating cross-
border attacks on Saudi infrastructure by Iran and Iran-backed groups. These attacks and the U.S. response
reportedly influenced Saudi and other Arab Gulf leaders’ views on U.S. security commitment to the region. Trump
Administration officials reportedly sought to convince Saudi leaders to normalize relations Israel.
After a presidential campaign in 2020 during which President Joe Biden criticized Saudi Arabia’s human rights
record, Biden Administration officials stated their intent to recalibrate rather than rupture the U.S.-Saudi
relationship while bolstering U.S. support for Saudi efforts to defend Saudi territory. President Biden ceased U.S.
military support for Saudi offensive military operations in Yemen, and in 2021, the Biden Administration reviewed
U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia before suspending two munitions sales, approving several defensive system sales,
and altering the deployment of U.S. military platforms and personnel in the kingdom. Russia’s 2022 invasion of
Ukraine arguably increased the strategic importance to the United States of Saudi decisions concerning oil
production and the kingdom’s relations with Russia. Press reports have suggested that President Biden withheld
personal engagement with the Crown Prince until July 2022, when the President travelled to Saudi Arabia, and
Administration officials announced some new bilateral initiatives. Since mid-2022, Saudi and U.S. officials have
emphasized the potential for continued bilateral cooperation, as independent observers differ in their prognoses
and prescriptions for U.S.-Saudi relations.