Saudi Arabia, a key Gulf ally, suspended the U.S. military’s ability to use its bases and airspace to carry out the operation, sources say.
Donald Trump’s abrupt reversal on his plan to help ships go through the Strait of Hormuz came after a key Gulf ally suspended the U.S. military’s ability to use its bases and airspace to carry out the operation, according to two U.S. officials.
Trump surprised Gulf allies by announcing “Project Freedom” on social media Sunday afternoon, the officials said, angering leadership in Saudi Arabia. In response, the Kingdom informed the U.S. it would not allow the U.S. military to fly aircraft from Prince Sultan Airbase southeast of Riyadh or fly through Saudi airspace to support the effort, the officials said.
Wait. So, someone actually told him his idea to escort ships through his own blockade of Iran’s blockade, was stupid?
Saudi Arabia realized that if they let him do this they would be hit by Iran in retaliation. Iran already showed that they can hit American bases in the region and they will also hit countries that host those bases as retaliation. As much as Trump and his toadies croak about Iran military being destroyed they still have military capabilities and their drone program is quite advanced because they had a lot of field testing in Ukraine.