Follow us on social

Mbs-mbz-scaled

WSJ: UAE and Saudi deny visit to Biden, say they want more from US first

Washington is desperate for more OPEC oil production and our 'friends' know it. Some might call this extortion.

Analysis | Europe

According to the Wall Street Journal tonight, officials from the UAE and Saudi Arabia have both declined a visit from the Biden Administration, preferring to hold out their oil for self-interested demands, like immunity for crown prince Muhammed bin Salman, who is tied to the murder and dismemberment of American journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

Some would call this good old fashioned geopolitics. Others would call it extortion. Others may call it Washington getting what it paid for.

WSJ:

The Saudis have signaled that their relationship with Washington has deteriorated under the Biden administration, and they want more support for their intervention in Yemen’s civil war, help with their own civilian nuclear program as Iran’s moves ahead, and legal immunity for Prince Mohammed in the U.S., Saudi officials said. The crown prince faces multiple lawsuits in the U.S., including over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.

The Emiratis share Saudi concerns about the restrained U.S. response to recent missile strikes by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen against the U.A.E. and Saudi Arabia, officials said. Both governments are also concerned about the revival of the Iran nuclear deal, which doesn’t address other security concerns of theirs and has entered the final stages of negotiations in recent weeks.

Biden is asking for a boost in oil production in the wake of the Russian-Ukraine crisis and his decision today to cut off all Russian oil imports into the U.S. The price of Brent crude had already spiked to $132 on Tuesday in anticipation of Biden’s announcement. According to my colleague Annelle Sheline:

Although Saudi fossil fuel only accounts for about 7 percent of U.S. imports, the Saudis have spare capacity and can significantly influence the global price of fuel. However the Saudis and the other members of OPEC+, including Russia, have maintained an agreement to keep production caps in place.

The idea that Biden is not supporting the UAE-Saudi war in Yemen is absurd on all fronts. Instead of stopping U.S. assistance in the destruction of that country like he pledged to do at the beginning of his term in 2021, Biden’s administration has approved the sale of $23 billion in weapons to UAE, and $650 million to Saudi Arabia.  The president and his officials have promised to continue assistance to both countries so that they can “defend themselves” against the Houthis in Yemen. That included sending the USS Cole, a guided missile destroyer, as well as 5th Generation fighter aircraft to the region in February. As a result, the Saudis have stepped up their air campaign, pounding the country in recent weeks, and continue their crippling economic blockade unabated.

Right now, according to the World Food Programme (WFP), some 16.2 million Yemenis, or about 45 percent of the population, are food insecure, with more than five million people on the brink of famine. Increased air strikes and violence on the ground have resulting in an uptick in deaths (adding to the 377,000 Yemenis killed from 2015 to the end of 2021) and displacement.

What both the UAE and the Saudis want is to designate the Houthis a terrorist organization which would not only cut off resources to the opposition but deliver what could be a death blow to millions of Yemenis as it would inevitably cut off more aid to the country. 

"The designation would place responsibility for the starvation of Yemenis squarely on the shoulders of the U.S., absolving the Houthis of their significant role in contributing to Yemen’s misery,” Sheline wrote last month. “The move could even bolster the group’s credibility, which they seek to establish on the basis of defending Yemen against Saudi, Emirati, and American aggression.”

One hopes that the Biden administration does not fall for these disgusting bribery schemes but he has backed himself into a corner, cutting off Russian oil to punish Putin for a humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, with no alternative but to horsetrade with autocrats over the fate of Yemenis a half a world away. If this is geopolitics, heaven forgive us.


UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan receives Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the Presidential Airport in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates November 27, 2019. WAM/Handout via REUTERS
Analysis | Europe
Kurdistan drone attacks
Top photo credit: A security official stands near site of the Sarsang oilfield operated by HKN Energy, after a drone attack, in Duhok province, Iraq, July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari

Kurdistan oil is the Bermuda Triangle of international politics

Middle East

In May, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declared that a strong Kurdistan Region within a federal Iraq is a "fundamental and strategic component" of U.S. policy. Two months later, that policy was set on fire.

A relentless campaign of drone attacks targeting Iraqi Kurdistan’s military, civilian, and energy infrastructure escalated dramatically in July, as a swarm of Iranian-made drones struck oil fields operated by American and Norwegian companies. Previous strikes had focused on targets like Erbil International Airport and the headquarters of the Peshmerga’s 70th Force in Sulaymaniyah.

The attacks slashed regional oil production from a pre-attack level of nearly 280,000 barrels per day to a mere 80,000.

The arrival of Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji in Erbil personified the central paradox of the crisis. His mission was to lead an investigation into an attack that Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials had already publicly blamed on armed groups embedded within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF)—components of his own government.

keep readingShow less
Sudan
Sudanese protester stands in front of a blazing fire during a demonstration against the military coup, on International Women's Day in Khartoum, Sudan March 8, 2022. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig

Sudan civil war takes dark turn as RSF launches 'parallel government'

Africa

In a dramatic move last week, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced the selection of its own prime minister and presidential council to compete with and directly challenge the legitimacy of the Sudanese government.

News of the new parallel government comes days before a new round of peace talks was expected to begin in Washington last week. Although neither of the two civil war belligerents were going to attend, it was to be the latest effort by the United States to broker an end to the war in Sudan — and the first major effort under Trump’s presidency.

keep readingShow less
starvation gaza
Top photo credit: A doctor checks Jana Ayad, a malnourished Palestinian girl, as she receives treatment at the International Medical Corps field hospital, amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, in Deir Al-Balah in the southern Gaza Strip, June 22, 2024. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem /File Photo

Mainstream media largely sidelined starvation story, until it couldn't

Middle East

The headlines are increasingly dire.

  • “Child Dies of Malnutrition as Starvation in Gaza Grows” (CNN, 7/21/25)
  • “More Than 100 Aid Groups Warn of Starvation in Gaza as Israeli Strikes Kill 29, Officials Say” (AP, 7/23/25)
  • “No Formula, No Food: Mothers and Babies Starve Together in Gaza” (NBC, 7/25/25)
  • “Five-Month-Old Baby Dies in Mother’s Arms in Gaza, a New Victim of Escalating Starvation Crisis” (CNN, 7/26/25)
  • “Gaza’s Children Are Looking Through Trash to Avoid Starving” (New York, 7/28/25)

This media coverage is urgent and necessary—and criminally late.

keep readingShow less

LATEST

QIOSK

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.