13-05-2025
The relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia goes back to the kingdom's earliest days
Live updates: Follow the latest on Trump's Gulf trip The relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia is as old as the Middle East country itself. Even before King Abdulaziz Ibn Saud established the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932, the US had joined the UK in extending diplomatic recognition to the new ruler. The heart of the relationship was oil, with the world realising fossil fuels would drive 20th century economies, and with Saudi Arabia a likely source of massive reserves. Indeed a year later, in 1933, a concession agreement was signed between Standard Oil of California and Saudi Arabia, to create the California Arabian Standard Oil Company. Oil was discovered in 1938, with the venture renamed Aramco, or the Arab American Oil Company, and in 1988 Saudi Aramco, one of the largest and wealthiest companies in the world. Although Saudi Arabia remained neutral during all but the last months of the Second World War, bombing attacks by Fascist Italy on targets in the Arabian Gulf saw Washington increasingly concerned about the vulnerability of such a strategic economic asset. By 1943, US President Franklin Roosevelt was offering King Abdulaziz military assistance, which was formalised in an agreement signed by the two leaders in 1945 on an America warship moored in the Suez Canal. The deal would see the US provide military protection for Saudi Arabia, with American oil supplies guaranteed in return. The creation of this long standing security agreement began with training of Saudi Arabian troops and the establishment of American airforce bases in the kingdom. In 1963, US President John F Kennedy sent a squadron of fighter jet to protect Saudi Arabia from attacks by Yemen during its civil war. Both Washington and Riyadh have long shared similar concerns about global and regional stability and the dangers of extremism, whether political or religious. The influence of the Soviet Union in the Gulf topped the list in the 1960s and '70s, to be replaced by the rise of groups like Al Qaeda and Islamic State in more recent decades. The fall of the Shah of Iran in 1979 saw the US lose its other main regional ally in the region, with military aid massively increased to Saudi Arabia. This was despite tension created by American support of Israel during the 1973 October War, when an oil embargo was declared by Opec on the US and petrol prices surged. One aspect of the embargo, and the rapid price rise of oil, was that Saudi Arabia's income surged, and when the embargo was lifted the following March, the kingdom embarked on a massive purchase of weapons, worth $2 billion to American companies. The relationship has endured, despite challenges like America's close relationship with Israel, which saw the US Congress vote against arms sales to Saudi Arabia several times in the 1980s. The first Gulf War that followed the invasion of Kuwait in 1990 saw King Fahd authorise the posting of more than 600,000 US troops to Saudi Arabia. While Kuwait was swiftly liberated, the arrangement saw increasing home grown discontent among religious extremists like Osama bin Laden, who had fled to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan to establish a global terrorist network, with the US and rulers of Saudi Arabia as its targets. This came to a head on September 11, 2001, when it emerged that 15 of the 19 hijackers responsible for the worst terrorist attack on American soil were from Saudi Arabia. The complexity of Saudi Arabian and US relations was illustrated when prominent Saudi Arabian citizens, unconnected with the attacks, were allowed to return home despite the closure of American airspace, and the hostility of many ordinary Americans towards the kingdom. The Al Qaeda attacks underlined the importance of the relationship between the two countries and the joint threat they both shared, strengthened by a series of terrorist incidents inside Saudi Arabia, which turned public opinion away from extremist groups. The nuclear deal reached with Iran by then US President Barack Obama saw the relationship with the US weaken over Arab fears of Tehran's regional ambitions, but strengthened with the first presidency of Donald Trump and the reaffirmation of America's desire for joint security and economic co-operation. In 2017, Mr Trump made Riyadh his first stop overseas after becoming president, where he famously touched a glowing orb to launch Saudi Arabia's new Global Centre for Combating Extremist Ideology. The war in Gaza has been another test, with the harsh treatment of Palestine civilians during Israel's military response to the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023 effectively ending any prospect of Saudi Arabia joining the Abraham Accords brokered by Mr Trump during his first term. Mr Trump's decision to revisit Riyadh so early in his second term is a reminder that, after nearly a century, the relationship with Saudi Arabia still features large on Washington's agenda.
