US-Saudi ties won’t improve under new president: Report

The frayed ties between the United States and Saudi Arabia are not likely to improve even after President Barack Obama leaves office next year and the new president takes charge of the White House, a new report says.

The US-Saudi relations have become strained over a number of issues, mainly because of the Iran's nuclear agreement, Saudi aggression in Yemen, and the belligerent foreign policy of King Salman's regime, The Hill reported on Saturday.

Obama’s chilly reception in Riyadh this week was the culmination of long lingering tension between the two countries, according to the newspaper.

The report said the US-Saudi ties have worsened since Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz ascended to the throne, and incorporated more radical elements into his cabinet.

Under the new king, Riyadh not only launched an offensive in Yemen, increased support for terrorists in Syria, but also fiercely opposed the historic nuclear accord between Iran and the 5+1 group of countries -- the United States, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany.

“It’s not like it was two years ago, the state of the relationship,” Republican Senator Bob Corker, the Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, told The Hill.

On Wednesday, King Salman personally greeted leaders from neighboring Arab states for the annual Persian Gulf Cooperation Council summit, but sent the Riyadh governor and Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubair to receive Obama at the airport, which was broadly viewed as a snub.

The king’s absence at the airport was the most visible indication of the frosty relations between the two old allies, according to the report.

Obama on Thursday acknowledged “tactical differences” in some areas between Riyadh and Washington, but added, “I think that a lot of the strain was always overblown.”

ME