It took Biden a year to realize Saudi Arabia’s vital regional role

Following the informal distancing and stagnation in their bilateral relations, US President Joe Biden did not hesitate to call Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to ask for help and save his administration from the growing challenges it is facing. Biden has been confronted with domestic and foreign crises that may cause the Democratic Party to lose the Senate and House of Representatives to the Republicans in the midterm legislative elections in less than nine months and thus lose the White House in 2024.

This phone call was the second between the US President and the Saudi monarch since February 2021, after Biden took office. It represented a significant positive shift in Biden’s approach with one of America’s historic close allies.

According to a statement issued by the White House, the two leaders discussed various issues, including regional developments, Iranian-enabled attacks by the Houthis against civilian targets in Saudi Arabia and the availability of global energy necessities.

“The president underscored the US commitment to support Saudi Arabia in the defense of its people and territory from these attacks and full support for UN-led efforts to end the war in Yemen,” the statement read, adding that King Salman was briefed on ongoing multilateral talks to reestablish constraints on Iran’s nuclear program.

Pushed by the progressive wing of the Democrats — which continued calls to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia — Biden’s first foreign policy decisions were ending US support for the Saudi-led Coalition Forces Supporting Legitimacy in Yemen and canceling the designation of the Houthis as a terrorist organization.

It took the Biden administration a year to realize the vital regional role of Saudi Arabia as leader of the Muslim world, the importance of its international influence and Biden’s best solution to the global fuel shortage.

Washington is changing its language with Riyadh. Following the Houthi drone attack against an airport in the southern Saudi region of Abha, near the Kingdom’s border with Yemen, injuring 12 innocent multinational civilians, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan emphasized his country’s efforts in working with its Saudi and international partners to hold the pro-Iran Houthi terrorist group accountable.

“As the president told King Salman yesterday, we are committed to supporting Saudi Arabia in the defense of its people and territory from these attacks. America will have the backs of our friends in the region,” Sullivan said.

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