Saudis seek renewed relations with US under Trump
The Saudis want US President Donald Trump to reconsider policies made during the Obama administration, especially regarding Iran, which they say has not changed its conduct since the nuclear deal.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — US Defense Secretary James Mattis considers Iran a troublemaker that is exporting terrorism and whose influence is prolonging the bloody war in Yemen, he told reporters April 19 after meeting in Riyadh with Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud and Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman.
“Everywhere you look, if there’s trouble in the region, you find Iran,” he told reporters.
US President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to repair US-Saudi ties, which suffered under former President Barack Obama because of divergent views on how to settle the region’s crises, including those posed by Syria, Yemen and Iraq. Saudi Arabia opposed the nuclear arms deal the United States and five other world powers struck with Iran, and a Saudi-led alliance supporting Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
In a March 2016 article titled "No, Mr. Obama," Saudi Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, who was the head of Saudi intelligence and ambassador to the United States from 2005 to 2007, accused Obama of turning against the kingdom.
