Saudi Arabia Feels ‘Let Down’ by End of US Support for Yemen Coalition, Senior Prince Says

Saudi Arabia feels “let down” by US President Joe Biden’s decision to halt the United States’ support for the Saudi-led coalition in defense of the internationally recognized government of Yemen, a senior member of the Saudi royal family said. Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, the kingdom’s former intelligence chief and a former ambassador to the United States, in a video interview with Saudi newspaper Arab News published on Monday, noted that the “strategic” relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia has had “ups and downs over the years, and perhaps at this time it’s one of the downs.” Prince Turki said, “Saudis consider the relationship as being strategic, but [feel] as being let down at a time when we thought that America and Saudi Arabia should be together in facing what we would consider to be a joint, not just irritant, but danger to the stability and security of the area.” Relations between the US and Saudi Arabia also have been challenged by the murder of journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, which the United States believes was approved by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto Saudi ruler, known as MBS.  Prince Turki does not hold any official government position; he serves as chairman of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.