What does Trump's departure mean for Saudi Arabia?

The most terrifying news can be the announcement to resume the Iran denuclearization deal.

What does Trump’s departure mean for Saudi Arabia? American elections have always been very important for the entire world. This is mainly due to the political importance and dominance of the US. Former Vice President Joe Biden has sworn in as the 46th President of the United States. The world leaders congratulated the new presented by tweeting their wishes on Twitter. However, there are some leaders who are not as happy as the rest of the world about Trump’s departure.

Saudi Arabia and UAE were noted to be among the last ones to join in Biden’s victory celebration. The hesitant behavior of the Saudi Crown Prince and the Emirate Crown Prince is hardly surprising as they have more to lose with Trump’s departure than any other government. Saudi leaders have been very comfortable with Trump. This is not a surprise for any of us. Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman has been very close to Donald Trump. Losing an important and powerful friend doesn’t seem to be very welcomed by the Saudi government.

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Trump’s Ties with Saudi Arabia

When Trump became president, his first foreign tour was to Saudi Arabia. Trump’s son in law has a very close working relationship with the Royal Crown Prince. Though Trump has always rejected these assumptions he has repeatedly refused to impose any sanctions on Saudi Arabia and continued to sell arms to the Saudi government despite congress’s demand to put a ban on this. With Biden holding the President’s office now, not only Saudi Arabia but UAE and Bahrain have also lost an important ally and friend.

Okaz, a prominent Saudi newspaper presented a diplomatic statement on the win of Joe Biden, “The region is waiting … and preparing for what happens after Biden’s victory”. Saudi anxieties are valid to some extent after Biden’s promise to make them pay for the 2018 murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey at the Saudi consulate.

In the USA, more recently, there is a rise in anti-Saudi/ UAE sentiments. Especially in the Democratic Party which forms the majority of Congress. Biden has shown a strong commitment to ending the unfettered access that the Arab Gulf governments have to the weapons and arms industry of the US. This access has always been open to these countries in the previous administrations including during Trump’s tenure. There is even a very clear hint that he will approve an executive order to end the involvement of the United States in the current on-going Saudi-UAE-led war in Yemen once he assumes power in the Oval Office.

Iran Challenge for Saudi Arabia

Without support from the US logistics and aerial support, UAE and Saudi warplanes are pretty much inoperable to identify or hit their targets. Not only in the war zone but without the US moral support, their mission is also unattainable diplomatically. Biden has shown intentions to atone the green light given to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi’s selection of war in the first place, approved by the Obama’s administration, owing to the fear of dozens of current and former government officials regarding the war crimes over the sale of weapons and arms to UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The most terrifying news for Saudi Arabia and UAE can be the announcement from the Biden administration to resume the Iran denuclearization deal and ending the crippling sanctions applied on Tehran by Trump. This sanction has given an upper hand to the Arab Gulf and Israel in the Cold War stand-off.

Irrespective of what might actually happen after Biden assumes the Oval Office, the relaxed time Saudi Arabia enjoyed during the administration of Donald Trump, has now come to an end. No Saudi Actions, whether at home or on foreign land, will go without the US’s scrutiny. The US seems to have become fed up to provide unconditional support to Saudis. This can be seen as a reset in US – Saudi relations.