title: Swedish Hockey League

text: In 2009, Håkan Loob, the general manager of Färjestad BK, sent a letter to Alexander Medvedev, the owner and president of the Russian Kontinental Hockey League, on behalf of five SHL teams – Färjestad, Frölunda, Djurgården, Linköping and HV71 – that were reportedly "interested in discussing the future of European hockey". It was believed that these five teams had intended to leave the SHL league after the 2009–10 season; they terminated their shareholders' agreements with "Hockeyligan", the name at that time for the SHL's interest organisation. The teams also formed an interest group to investigate the possibility of forming a continental hockey league spanning several European countries. These plans were abandoned in November 2011, however, with Frölunda's chairman expressing hopes for the future of the European Trophy (which was disbanded with the formation of the Champions Hockey League in 2013).


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: On 17 June 2013, the league was renamed "Svenska hockeyligan", since this would allow for an easy English translation ("Swedish Hockey League") and a common acronym in the two languages ("SHL"), all of which was considered to be a better brand identity for investment.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: Each regular season SHL game is composed of three 20-minute periods, with an intermission of a maximum of 18 minutes between periods. If the game is tied following the 60-minute regulation time, a five-minute three-on-three sudden death overtime period is played. If a game still is tied after the overtime period, a shootout decides the game. In a shootout, the team that scores the most penalty shots out of three attempts wins the game. If the game is still tied after the first three penalty-shot rounds, the shootout continues round by round, until one team scores while the other team fails to score.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: During each period, there is one 70-second "power break" used to display commercials; each commercial is played after the first stoppage of play at least 10 minutes into the period. Power breaks do not, however, take place directly after a goal, penalty shot, icing call or during a powerplay.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: In the event of a tied game during the playoffs, additional 20-minute overtime periods are played perpetually until one team scores. Unlike in the regular season, playoff overtime periods are played five-on-five. Only one game in Sweden has ever surpassed four full overtime periods, and no SHL games have surpassed three full overtime periods. The longest SHL game was the first game of the 1997 Swedish Championship semifinals, played on 23 March 1997 between Leksands IF and Färjestad BK. 6,012 spectators saw Andreas Karlsson score the game-winning goal for Leksand after 59 minutes of overtime (almost three full overtime periods). See Longest ice hockey games in Sweden for other games.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: SHL games are played on an ice hockey rink, which is rectangular ice rink with rounded corners and surrounded by a wall. It measures 30 by 60 meters (98.42 by 196.85 ft), conforming to international standards.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: Counting from the formation of the SHL in 1975, Färjestad BK is the most successful team with ten Swedish Championship titles. Brynäs IF and Djurgårdens IF are tied for the second most successful team with six championship titles. Counting from 1922, when the first Swedish championships were played, Djurgårdens IF is the most successful team with sixteen championship titles, followed by Brynäs IF with thirteen, as well as Färjestad BK with ten and IK Göta with nine.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: The SHL season is divided into a regular season from late September through the beginning of March, when teams play against each other in a pre-defined schedule, and a playoffs from March to April, which is an elimination tournament where two teams play against each other to win a best-of-seven series in order to advance to the next round. The final remaining team is crowned the Swedish champion, or "Svenska mästare" in Swedish, and receives the Le Mat Trophy.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: The regular season is a round-robin, where each team plays 52 games. Points are awarded for each game, where three points are awarded for winning in regulation time, two points for winning in overtime or shootout, one point for losing in overtime or shootout, and zero points for losing in regulation time. At the end of the regular season, the team that finishes with the most points is crowned the league champion and is awarded a prize sum of 1,000,000 SEK (approx. US$150,000) as a bonus. The six highest-ranked teams by points qualify directly for the playoffs. The four teams ranked 7–10 play a best-of-three series and battle for the two remaining playoff spots. The two lowest-ranked teams after the regular season have to play in the relegation and promotion series Kvalserien in order to qualify for the next season of the SHL. Before the 2013–14 season, the eight highest-ranked teams qualified for the playoffs.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: If two or more teams end up tied in points, the seeds are determined by the following tiebreaker format:


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: The SHL playoffs are an elimination tournament consisting of multi-game series where two teams battle to win a best-of-three or best-of-seven series in order to advance to the next round. The playoffs consist of four rounds: The eighth finals, the quarterfinals, the semifinals and the finals. In the first round, the eighth finals (known as Play In before the 2015–16 season), the 7th-ranked team from the regular season is paired against the 10th-ranked team and the 8th-ranked team is paired against the 9th-ranked teamen. In the quarterfinals, the six best teams from the regular season and the two winners of the eighth finals are paired seed-wise against each other, with the highest seed playing the lowest-remaining seed. In the semifinals, the teams are re-seeded, with the top remaining seed playing against the lowest remaining seed, and the other two remaining teams pairing off. In the finals, the two remaining teams face each other to determine the Swedish ice hockey champions. Before the 2013–14 season, the top-tier teams got to choose their opponents in the quarterfinals.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: The eighth finals are played as best-of-three series while the other rounds are played as best-of-seven series. In each series, the higher-ranked team of the two has home-ice advantage. Each series is played in an alternating home-away format, with the first game played at the higher seed's home venue. Any given series ends when one team has won more than half the maximum number of games needed to decide the series.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: The two lowest ranked teams after the regular season have to play in a relegation series called Kvalserien together with four teams from the second tier league HockeyAllsvenskan. The top two teams of Kvalserien qualify for the next SHL season, while the other four are demoted to HockeyAllsvenskan.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: Between 2009 and 2013, the league hosted an outdoor game in the regular season in December every year. The first outdoor game was played on 28 December 2009, between Frölunda HC and Färjestad BK at Ullevi. Frölunda came out on top with a 4–1 victory. 31,144 spectators saw the game, setting a new record for the largest attendance at an ice hockey league match in Sweden. The following year, Färjestad and Frölunda met again in an outdoor game, this time in Karlstad. Färjestad won the game 5–2 in front of 15,274 spectators. The 2013 outdoor game was played on 14 December 2013, between Frölunda HC and Skellefteå AIK at Gamla Ullevi. The game was promoted as "Julmatchen" (English: "The Christmas game") and was won by Skellefteå 4–1 in front of 13,452 spectators.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: Three players in SHL history have been awarded the Golden Puck, as ice hockey player of the year in Sweden, more than once; Anders Andersson, Leif Holmqvist and Peter Forsberg have all won it twice.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: The top five career scorers in the SHL are Johan Davidsson (561 points), Fredrik Bremberg (501), Håkan Loob (500), Stefan Nilsson (489) and Ove Molin (484). The top three career goal scorers are Håkan Loob (263 goals), Magnus Wernblom (241) and Peter Gradin (214). Joel Lundqvist, Jan Sandström and Johan Davidsson are the leaders in the number of SHL regular season games played, with Lundqvist having played 812 games, Sandström 800 and Davidsson 776.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: The top three point-scoring forwards for the 2021–22 season were Ryan Lasch (66 points), Max Véronneau (60) and Linus Omark (58). Véronneau was the top goal-scorers and thus the Håkan Loob Trophy winner, with 34 goals. The top three point-scorers on defence were Jonathan Pudas (44 points), Joel Persson (39) and Joey LaLeggia (38). The top three goaltenders by save percentage among those who played more than 40% of their team's minutes were Jhonas Enroth (.923), Christoffer Rifalk (.921) and Gustaf Lindvall (.920).


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: The winning team of the SHL playoffs is named Swedish Champions and awarded the Le Mat Trophy. There is only one trophy that is awarded to players based on their statistics during the regular season; the Håkan Loob Trophy for the goal-scoring leader.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: One of the most prestigious individual awards is Guldhjälmen, which is awarded annually to the Most Valuable Player. The voting is conducted by the players in the SHL. Guldpucken is awarded annually to the ice hockey player of the year in Sweden. It is not necessarily awarded to a player in the SHL; for the 2005–06 season the award was given to Kenny Jönsson in the Swedish second-tier ice hockey league HockeyAllsvenskan. The award Årets Rookie (Rookie of the Year) is awarded annually by "Svenska Spel" and "Svenska Hockeyligan" to the best rookie player in the SHL.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: Starting in 2010, an annual playoff MVP was acknowledged. The playoff MVP award was later renamed the Stefan Liv Memorial Trophy in honour of Swedish goalkeeper Stefan Liv after his death in the 2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: SHL games are aired nationally in Sweden, Finland, Denmark, and Norway, by C More. One game from each round is selected and shown on C More Sport, and simulcasted in 1080i high definition on C More Sport HD. The selected game is also aired on Mobile TV, available to Telenor customers in Sweden with 3G phones. All 330 regular season games are available on pay-per-view, via cable and satellite for C More customers, and also available via C More's streaming Internet TV. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, SHL games were being broadcast in Canada by Rogers Sportsnet. Starting in 2017, SHL is broadcast in the United States by Eleven Sports Network.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: Sveriges Radio (SR) is the official radio broadcaster of the SHL. Each round is covered by "Sportextra" in SR P4 with reports from all arenas; all games are available in their entirety on SR's internet radio and to mobile phones via 3G.


title: Swedish Hockey League

text: Teams from the league are playable in the video games "Elitserien 95" for Sega Mega Drive, "Elitserien 96" for Sega Mega Drive and "Elitserien 2001" for PC. They also appear in EA Sports' NHL series since NHL 2004.


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: Anjali is a 1990 Indian Tamil-language children's drama film written and directed by Mani Ratnam. It stars Raghuvaran and Revathi, with Tarun, Shruti and Shamili in supporting roles. The film deals with the story of a dying mentally disabled child, and the emotional trauma experienced by her family.


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: "Anjali" was released on 12 July 1990 and was critically acclaimed, winning three National Film Awards, and was also featured at the 14th IFFI' 91 "Indian Panorama" section. Anjali was chosen as India's official entry to the Oscars in 1991, but was not nominated. The film was remade in Sinhala in 2013 as "Doni".


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: Civil engineer Shekhar lives with his wife Chitra and their two young children Arjun and Anu. Chitra delivers a third child, but the daughter is claimed to be stillborn. Two years later, Shekar and his family move to a new apartment complex. The family seems to have moved on from their grief due to the stillborn child incident and live happily. After a few altercations with the kids in the colony, Arjun and Anu are accepted by all the kids as their own. The kids are all for pulling pranks and generally causing a clamour around the apartment colony. One such constant joke, they play on a mentally disabled ex-watchman of the colony, much to the chagrin of his wife. The only tenant they are afraid of is Dennis Joseph, an ex-convict, who lives alone in one of the apartments.


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: On one particular day, Chitra and the kids decided to surprise Shekhar by meeting him at his construction area, unannounced. Nevertheless, on coming to the site, they learned from one of the construction workers that Shekhar has left to conduct an emergency matter elsewhere. When Shekhar returns home for dinner that night, Chitra casually asks him where he was on that day, to which he replies that he was at the construction site the whole day. Chitra feels hurt to hear Shekhar lying and leaves the dining hall. Arjun and Anu too sense that their father is lying to them and leave the place. Nevertheless, before leaving the room, Anu blurts out accusations on her father, saying that he's lying about being at the site the whole day. Shekhar apologises to Chitra and consoles her and they both make up.


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: On New Year's Eve, Arjun slips out late at night with the older children to celebrate while Shekhar is out of town on a business trip. Nevertheless, while dancing with his friends on the road, Arjun sees Shekhar with another woman and is shocked to know that his father has lied to them about going out of the town. Later, Arjun and the other children are hauled by the police back to their homes. Chitra is furious to learn about Arjun's escapade and when Shekhar comes back, asks him to punish Arjun. While Shekhar inquires him about the incident, Arjun, who was still angry at his father, blurts out that he saw Shekhar with another woman on New Year's Eve. Chitra and Anu become shocked on hearing about the incident. Chitra then starts suspecting that Shekhar is having affair with another woman and confronts him about it, but Shekhar swears on both his kids that he is not.


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: A few days later, while on the bus, Chitra spots Shekhar talking to a woman. She gets out of the bus and confronts him. Without waiting for his explanations, she rushes back home, packs her bags and threatens to walk out of the house with her kids. Shekhar pleads her to stay but she doesn't stop. Finally, Shekhar comes clean.


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: Their third child, Anjali, was born mentally ill and with a terminal illness a few years ago. The doctors did not give the child more than a couple of months to live. To avoid the sadness for a couple of months from an already physically exhausted Chitra and to protect his children from the trauma, he colludes with the doctors to lie to his family that the child was stillborn. But much to the surprise of everyone, the child has made it past her second birthday and is seemingly physically healthy. The woman Shekar was talking to is Anjali's doctor Sheela. Although Chitra is saddened by this betrayal, she decides to bring Anjali back home.


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: Anjali is not like a normal child and requires constant attention from both the parents. This causes the other two siblings to dislike Anjali. Moreover, the other kids in the colony and school tease them by making fun of Anjali's condition. One day, the other kids in the colony make fun of Anjali by tying a string of cans behind her. This causes Arjun to fight with the other kids. He gets bruised which saddens Anjali, but a special bond is born between the siblings. Arjun becomes protective of her and challenges the other kids in the colony to a fight if they can't accept her. The kids accept Anjali and all the kids come to love her.


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: This causes the parents of the kids to worry as they don't want their kids to be close with a mentally disabled child. During an apartment association meeting, the parents of the kids demand that Shekar and Chitra either leave the apartment or institutionalise Anjali. The only person to argue for Anjali's presence is Dennis. The parents are afraid of him and let it go. But soon, Anjali wins over everyone in the apartment complex and everyone comes to like her.


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: Meanwhile, Shekhar, during a late-night visit to his construction site with Chitra and Anjali, he witnesses a murder. He reports this to the police and the murderer is arrested. The murderer is enraged and visits Shekar's house after getting out on bail. He physically assaults and plans on killing Shekhar. But Dennis comes to the rescue and kills the murderer in the altercation when he threatens Shekhar's family and is arrested. Dennis thanks Shekhar before leaving as Anjali was the only person to show compassion to him.


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: The next morning, Anu goes to wake up Anjali. When Anjali doesn't wake up, she calls Arjun and her parents, who realise that she has died in her sleep. As more and more people come after hearing Anu's screams, they all are saddened by the demise of the girl who taught them acceptance and forgiveness.


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: The idea of "Anjali" was developed by Mani Ratnam during the making of "Nayakan" (1987). He initially approached Dennis Joseph to have the screenplay for "Anjali" written. Being a fan of Ratnam's work, Dennis Joseph agreed to write but as months went by he could not work on it due to other commitments. Eventually, Ratnam decided to write the film himself, and named Prabhu's character after Dennis Joseph. "Anjali" was also Ratnam's first film since "Mouna Ragam" (1986) without P. C. Sreeram as cinematographer, for which he used Madhu Ambat instead. Ambat said he agreed to work on the film because he liked Ratnam's earlier work. B. Lenin and V. T. Vijayan served as editors.


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: Mohan was originally considered for playing the male lead, but he refused as he believed his fans would not accept seeing him as "the father of two kids". The role later went to Raghuvaran. Shamili was three years old while doing this film. The crew had difficulty to get the character right for her, so they found the solution by recording videos of a special child. Shamili's father put in a lot of effort and he would make her watch every day to observe the actions of the child.


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: The soundtrack was composed by Ilaiyaraaja and lyrics by Vaali. It is Ilaiyaraaja's 500th film as a composer. For the Telugu dubbed version, all the lyrics are written by Rajasri. For the Hindi dubbed version, all lyrics were written by Sameer.


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: "Anjali" was released on 12 July 1990 by GV Films. The following day, N. Krishnaswamy wrote for "The Indian Express" that "directing so many kids must have been such a difficult task ... and [Mani Ratnam] has been so successful in this department." On 5 August 1990, "Ananda Vikatan" overwhelmingly appreciated the film, rating it 58 out of 100. It was noted to be inspired by the 1979 televised docudrama "".


title: Anjali (1990 film)

text: A Telugu dubbed version was released later that year. After the success of the Hindi dubbed version of "Roja" (1992), this film was dubbed in Hindi in 1993.


title: Indicator function

text: In mathematics, an indicator function or a characteristic function of a subset of a set is a function that maps elements of the subset to one, and all other elements to zero. That is, if is a subset of some set , one has formula_1 if formula_2 and formula_3 otherwise, where formula_4 is a common notation for the indicator function. Other common notations are formula_5 and formula_6


title: Indicator function

text: For example, the Dirichlet function is the indicator function of the rational numbers as a subset of the real numbers.


title: Indicator function

text: The notation formula_13 is also used to denote the characteristic function in convex analysis, which is defined as if using the reciprocal of the standard definition of the indicator function.


title: Indicator function

text: A related concept in statistics is that of a dummy variable. (This must not be confused with "dummy variables" as that term is usually used in mathematics, also called a bound variable.)


title: Indicator function

text: The term "characteristic function" has an unrelated meaning in classic probability theory. For this reason, traditional probabilists use the term indicator function for the function defined here almost exclusively, while mathematicians in other fields are more likely to use the term "characteristic function" to describe the function that indicates membership in a set.


title: Indicator function

text: In fuzzy logic and modern many-valued logic, predicates are the characteristic functions of a probability distribution. That is, the strict true/false valuation of the predicate is replaced by a quantity interpreted as the degree of truth.


title: Indicator function

text: The "indicator" or "characteristic" function of a subset of some set maps elements of to the range formula_14.


title: Indicator function

text: This mapping is surjective only when is a non-empty proper subset of . If formula_15 then formula_16 By a similar argument, if formula_17 then formula_18


title: Indicator function

text: In the following, the dot represents multiplication, formula_19 formula_20 etc. "+" and "−" represent addition and subtraction. "formula_21" and "formula_22" are intersection and union, respectively.


title: Indicator function

text: As suggested by the previous example, the indicator function is a useful notational device in combinatorics. The notation is used in other places as well, for instance in probability theory: if is a probability space with probability measure formula_28 and is a measurable set, then formula_4 becomes a random variable whose expected value is equal to the probability of :


title: Indicator function

text: In many cases, such as order theory, the inverse of the indicator function may be defined. This is commonly called the generalized Möbius function, as a generalization of the inverse of the indicator function in elementary number theory, the Möbius function. (See paragraph below about the use of the inverse in classical recursion theory.)


title: Indicator function

text: Given a probability space formula_31 with formula_32 the indicator random variable formula_33 is defined by formula_34 if formula_35 otherwise formula_36


title: Indicator function

text: Kurt Gödel described the "representing function" in his 1934 paper "On undecidable propositions of formal mathematical systems" (the "¬" indicates logical inversion, i.e. "NOT"):


title: Indicator function

text: Kleene offers up the same definition in the context of the primitive recursive functions as a function of a predicate takes on values if the predicate is true and if the predicate is false.


title: Indicator function

text: For example, because the product of characteristic functions formula_40 whenever any one of the functions equals , it plays the role of logical OR: IF formula_41 OR formula_42 OR ... OR formula_43 THEN their product is . What appears to the modern reader as the representing function's logical inversion, i.e. the representing function is when the function is "true" or satisfied", plays a useful role in Kleene's definition of the logical functions OR, AND, and IMPLY, the bounded- and unbounded- mu operators and the CASE function.


title: Indicator function

text: In classical mathematics, characteristic functions of sets only take values (members) or (non-members). In "fuzzy set theory", characteristic functions are generalized to take value in the real unit interval , or more generally, in some algebra or structure (usually required to be at least a poset or lattice). Such generalized characteristic functions are more usually called membership functions, and the corresponding "sets" are called "fuzzy" sets. Fuzzy sets model the gradual change in the membership degree seen in many real-world predicates like "tall", "warm", etc.


title: Indicator function

text: The distributional derivative of the Heaviside step function is equal to the Dirac delta function, i.e.


title: Indicator function

text: Thus the derivative of the Heaviside step function can be seen as the "inward normal derivative" at the "boundary" of the domain given by the positive half-line. In higher dimensions, the derivative naturally generalises to the inward normal derivative, while the Heaviside step function naturally generalises to the indicator function of some domain . The surface of will be denoted by . Proceeding, it can be derived that the inward normal derivative of the indicator gives rise to a 'surface delta function', which can be indicated by formula_48:


title: Indicator function

text: where is the outward normal of the surface . This 'surface delta function' has the following property:


title: Indicator function

text: By setting the function equal to one, it follows that the inward normal derivative of the indicator integrates to the numerical value of the surface area .


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: The Palmyrene Empire was a short-lived breakaway state from the Roman Empire resulting from the Crisis of the Third Century. Named after its capital city, Palmyra, it encompassed the Roman provinces of Syria Palaestina, Arabia Petraea, and Egypt, as well as large parts of Asia Minor.


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: The Palmyrene Empire was ruled by Queen Zenobia, officially as regent for her son Vaballathus, who inherited the throne in 267 at age ten. In 270, Zenobia rapidly conquered most of the Roman east, attempting to maintain relations with Rome as a legitimate power. In 271, she claimed the imperial title for both herself and her son, fighting a short war with the Roman emperor Aurelian, who conquered Palmyra and captured Zenobia. A year later the Palmyrenes rebelled, which led Aurelian to destroy Palmyra.


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: Despite its brief existence, the Palmyrene Empire is remembered for having been ruled by one of the most ambitious and powerful women in late antiquity. It is also hailed in Syria, where it plays an important role as an icon in Syrian nationalism.


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: Following the murder of Roman emperor Alexander Severus in 235, general after general squabbled over control of the empire, the frontiers were neglected and subjected to frequent raids by Carpians, Goths and Alemanni, in addition to outright attacks from the aggressive Sassanids in the east. Finally, Shapur I of Persia inflicted a disastrous defeat upon the Romans at the Battle of Edessa in 260, capturing the Roman emperor Valerian and soon, Quietus and Macrianus rebelled against Valerian's son Gallienus and usurped the imperial power in Syria.


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: The Palmyrene leader Odaenathus was declared king, and remained nominally loyal to Gallienus, forming an army of Palmyrenes and Syrian peasants to attack Shapur. In 260, Odaenathus won a decisive victory over Shapur in a battle near the Euphrates. Next, Odaenathus defeated the usurpers in 261, and spent the remainder of his reign fighting the Persians. Odaenathus received the title "Governor of the East", and ruled Syria as the imperial representative, and declared himself King of Kings. Odaenathus was assassinated along with his son Hairan in 267; according to Joannes Zonaras and the "Historia Augusta", he was killed by his cousin, whose name is given by the latter source as Maeonius. The "Historia Augusta" also claims that Maeonius was proclaimed emperor for a very brief period, before being executed by the soldiers. No inscriptions or other evidence exist for Maeonius' reign, and he was probably killed immediately after assassinating Odaenathus.


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: Odaenathus was succeeded by his minor son, the ten-year-old Vaballathus, under the regency of Zenobia. Vaballathus was kept in the shadow while his mother assumed actual rule and consolidated her power. The queen was careful not to provoke Rome and took for herself and her son the titles that her husband had, while working on guaranteeing the safety of the borders with Persia, and pacifying the dangerous Tanukhid tribes in Hauran.


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: Zenobia started an expedition against the Tanukhids in the spring of 270, during the reign of emperor Claudius Gothicus aided by her generals, Septimius Zabbai (a general of the army) and Septimius Zabdas (the chief general of the army).


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: Zabdas sacked Bosra, killed the Roman governor, and marched south securing Roman Arabia. According to the Persian geographer Ibn Khordadbeh, Zenobia herself attacked Dumat Al-Jandal but could not conquer its castle. However, Ibn Khordadbeh is confusing Zenobia with al-Zabbā, a semi-legendary Arab queen whose story is often confused with Zenobia's story.


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: In October of 270, a Palmyrene army of 70,000 invaded Egypt, and declared Zenobia queen of Egypt. The Roman general Tenagino Probus was able to regain Alexandria in November, but was defeated and escaped to the fortress of Babylon, where he was besieged and committed suicide after being captured by Zabdas, who continued his march south and secured Egypt. Afterward, in 271, Zabbai started the operations in Asia Minor, and was joined by Zabdas in the spring of that year. The Palmyrenes subdued Galatia, and occupied Ancyra, marking the greatest extent of the Palmyrene expansion. However, the attempts to conquer Chalcedon were unsuccessful.


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: The Palmyrene conquests were done under the protective show of subordination to Rome. Zenobia issued coinage in the name of Claudius' successor Aurelian with Vaballathus depicted as king, while the emperor allowed the Palmyrene coinage and conferred the Palmyrene royal titles. However, toward the end of 271, Vaballathus took the title of "Augustus" along with his mother.


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: In 272, Aurelian crossed the Bosphorus and advanced quickly through Anatolia. According to one account, Marcus Aurelius Probus regained Egypt from Palmyra, while the emperor continued his march and reached Tyana. The fall of Tyana lent itself to a legend; Aurelian to that point had destroyed every city that resisted him, but he spared Tyana after having a vision of the great philosopher Apollonius of Tyana, whom he respected greatly, in a dream. Apollonius implored him, stating: "Aurelian, if you desire to rule, abstain from the blood of the innocent! Aurelian, if you will conquer, be merciful!". Whatever the reason for his clemency, Aurelian's sparing of Tyana paid off; many more cities submitted to him upon seeing that the emperor would not exact revenge upon them.


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: Entering Issus and heading to Antioch, Aurelian defeated Zenobia in the Battle of Immae. Zenobia retreated to Antioch then fled to Emesa while Aurelian advanced and took the former. After regrouping, the Romans first destroyed a Palmyrene garrison stationed at the fort of Daphne, and headed south to Apamea, then continued to Emesa and defeated Zenobia again at the Battle of Emesa, forcing her to evacuate to the capital. Aurelian marched through the desert and was harassed by Bedouins loyal to Palmyra, but as soon as he arrived at the city gates, he negotiated with the Bedouins, who betrayed Palmyra and supplied the Roman army with water and food. Aurelian besieged Palmyra in the summer of 272, and tried to negotiate with Zenobia, on the condition that she surrender herself in person to him, to which she answered with refusal. The Romans tried to breach the city defenses several times but were repelled, however, as the situation deteriorated, Zenobia left the city and headed east to ask the Persians for help. The Romans followed the empress, captured her near the Euphrates and brought her back to the emperor. Soon after, the Palmyrene citizens asked for peace, and the city capitulated.


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: Aurelian spared the city and stationed a garrison of 600 archers led by a certain Sandarion, as a peacekeeping force. The defenses were destroyed and most of the military equipment was confiscated. Zenobia and her council were taken to Emesa and put on trial. Most of the high-ranking Palmyrene officials were executed, while Zenobia's and Vaballathus's fates are uncertain.


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: In 273, Palmyra rebelled under the leadership of a citizen named Septimius Apsaios, and contacted the Roman prefect of Mesopotamia, Marcellinus, offering to help him usurp the imperial power. Marcellinus delayed the negotiations and sent word to the Roman emperor, while the rebels lost their patience and declared a relative of Zenobia named Antiochus as Augustus. Aurelian marched against Palmyra and was helped by a Palmyrene faction from inside the city, headed by a man with a senatorial rank named Septimius Haddudan.


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: Aurelian spared Antiochus, but razed Palmyra. The most valuable monuments were taken by the emperor to decorate his Temple of Sol, while buildings were smashed, people were clubbed and cudgeled and Palmyra's holiest temple pillaged.


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: The ultimate motive behind the revolt is debated; when dealing with the rise of Palmyra and the rebellion of Zenobia, historians most often interpreted the ascendancy as an indication of cultural, ethnic or social factors. Andreas Alföldi viewed the rebellion as a completely native ethnic opposition against Rome. Irfan Shahîd considered Zenobia's revolt a pan-Arab movement that was a forerunner of the Arab expansion of the Caliphates; an opinion shared by Franz Altheim, and an almost universal view amongst Arab and Syrian scholars such as Philip Khuri Hitti. Mark Whittow disagreed that the revolt was ethnic in its nature and emphasized that it was a reaction to the weakness of Rome and its inability to protect Palmyra from the Persians. Warwick Ball viewed the rebellion as aimed at Rome's throne, not just Palmyrene independence. Vaballathus' inscriptions indicated the style of a Roman emperor; according to Ball, Zenobia and Vaballathus were contenders for the Roman imperial throne, following a plan similar to that of Vespasian, who ascended the throne after building his power-base in Syria. Andrew M. Smith II considered the revolt as a bid for both independence and the Roman throne. The Palmyrene royalty used Eastern titles such as "king of kings", which had no relevance in Roman politics, while the conquests were in the interest of Palmyrene commerce. Finally, it was only in the last regnal year of Zenobia and Vaballathus that the Roman imperial rank was claimed. Fergus Millar, although tending toward the view that it was not only an independence movement, believes there is not yet enough evidence to draw a conclusion on the nature of Palmyra's revolt.


title: Palmyrene Empire

text: During the mid-twentieth century, interest in the Palmyrene Empire was briefly revived by the advent of Syrian nationalism. Modern Syrian nationalists viewed the empire as a uniquely Syrian civilization which attempted to liberate the masses of the Levant from Roman tyranny. A Syrian TV show was produced based on Zenobia's life, and she was the subject of a biography written by Syria's former minister of defense Mustafa Tlass.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Bilateral relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States began in 1933 when full diplomatic relations were established and became formalized in the 1951 Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement. Despite the differences between the two countries—an Islamic absolute monarchy, and a secular constitutional republic—the two countries have been allies ever since. The core logic underpinning the relationship is that the United States of America (USA) provides military protection of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) in exchange for a reliable oil supply from the Saudis, pricing of oil in USA dollars, and Saudi support for USA foreign policy operations across the world. However, the Saudi Ambassador to the US, Reema bint Bandar says the relationship in recent years has shifted from “oil for security” to one that is built around regional growth, food and energy security, stability, and climate change. The current status of the alliance was given 15 July 2022 in that was attended by President Joe Biden in Jeddah.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Ever since the modern KSAUSA relationship began in 1945, the USA has been willing to overlook some of the kingdom's more unusual aspects such as Wahhabism, its human rights and alleged state-sponsored terrorism as long as it maintained oil production and supported USA national security policies. Since World War II, the two countries have been allied in opposition to communism, in support of stable oil prices, stability in the oil fields and oil shipping of the Persian Gulf, and stability in the economies of Western countries where Saudis have invested. In particular the two countries were allies against the Soviets in Afghanistan and in the expulsion of Iraq from Kuwait in 1991.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: The two countries have disagreed with regard to Israel, as well as the embargo of the U.S. and its allies by Saudi Arabia and other Middle East oil exporters during the 1973 oil crisis (which raised oil prices considerably), the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq (which Saudi Arabia opposed), aspects of the "War on Terror", and what many in the U.S. see as the pernicious influence of Saudi Arabia after the September 11 attacks. In recent years, particularly the Barack Obama administration, the relationship between the two countries became strained and witnessed major decline. However, the relationship was strengthened by the Trump Administration's trip to Saudi Arabia in May 2017. The October 2018 assassination of Saudi dissident and "Washington Post" journalist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi consulate in Turkey caused a serious rift between the countries. The United States sanctioned some Saudi nationals, and Congress unsuccessfully attempted to cut off U.S. weapons sales to Saudi related to the war in Yemen due to opposition from the Trump administration. Turkish authorities and U.S. intelligence agencies concluded the killing was done on the order of Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Saudi Arabia subsidized its oil exports to the U.S. until President George W. Bush proposed the overthrow of the Iraqi government in 2002. The shale oil boom enabled the United States to become a net exporter of petroleum products in 2019, making the U.S. economy significantly less dependent on Saudi oil. Arms sales to Saudi Arabia remain an important U.S. export. The U.S. Department of Defense acts as an intermediary charging 7% of such sales, allowing it to fund training activities in other countries such as Bolivia.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Historically, opinion polls between the two nations showed negative feelings between the American people and Saudi people despite the strong relationship between the two countries. Most Saudi criticism pertained to America's support of Israel during the Arab-Israeli conflict; American criticism pertained to lack of human rights in Saudi Arabia and the alleged Saudi government role in the September 11 attacks. A poll of Saudis by Zogby International (2002) and BBC (between October 2005 and January 2006) found 51% of Saudis had hostile feelings towards the American people in 2002; in 2005–2006, Saudi public opinion was sharply divided with 38% viewing U.S. influence positively and 38% viewing U.S. influence negatively. However, as of July 2022, 92% of young Saudis viewed the United States as an ally of their nation. In 2019, Saudi Arabian students formed the 4th largest group of international students studying in the United States, representing 3.4% of all foreigners pursuing higher education in the U.S. A December 2013 poll found 57% of Americans polled had an unfavorable view of Saudi Arabia and 27% favorable, while a poll in July 2021 found that 50% of Americans viewed the country at least as a necessary partner of the US.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: King Abdulaziz Al Saud, Ibn Saud as an appellation, the founder of Saudi Arabia, developed close ties with the United States. After unifying his country in 1928, he set about gaining international recognition. Great Britain was the first country to recognize Saudi Arabia as an independent state, as the British had provided protection of Saudi territories from the Turks for many years. In May 1931 the U.S. officially recognized Saudi Arabia by extending full diplomatic recognition. At the same time Ibn Saud granted a concession to the U.S. company, Standard Oil of California, allowing them to explore for oil in the country's Eastern Province, al-Hasa. The company gave the Saudi government £35,000 and also paid assorted rental fees and royalty payments.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In November 1931, a treaty was signed by both nations which included favored nation status. The relationship was still weak, however, as America did not have an interest in establishing missions in Saudi Arabia: at the time, Saudi affairs were handled by the U.S. delegation in Cairo, Egypt; The U.S. finally sent a resident ambassador in 1943.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: The relationship between Saudi Arabia and the United States of America was economically strengthened in 1933, when Standard Oil of California was given a concession to explore the Saudi Arabian lands for oil. The subsidiary of this company, regarded as California Arabian Standard Oil Company, later dubbed Saudi Aramco carried out a fruitful exploration in 1938, finding oil for the first time. The relationship between the two nations strengthened throughout the next decade, establishing a full diplomatic relationship through a symbolic acceptance of an American envoy in Saudi Arabia.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: As the U.S.–Saudi relationship was growing slowly, World War II was beginning its first phase, with Saudi Arabia remaining neutral. The U.S. was deeply involved in World War II, and as a result, U.S.–Saudi relations were put on the 'back burner'. This negligence left Saudi Arabia vulnerable to attack. Italy, an Axis power, bombed a CASOC oil installation in Dhahran crippling Saudi Arabia's oil production. This attack left Bin Saud scrambling for to find an external power that would protect the country, fearing further attacks that would most likely cease the country's oil production and the flow of pilgrims coming into Mecca to perform Hajj, the base of the Saudi power and economy at that time.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: CASOC struck oil near Dhahran, but production over the next several years remained low—only about 42.5 million barrels between 1941 and 1945; less than 1% of the output in the United States over the same time period. CASOC was later renamed the Arabian-American Oil Company (Aramco).


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: However, as World War II progressed, the United States began to believe that Saudi oil was of strategic importance. As a result, in the interest of national security, the U.S. began to push for greater control over the CASOC concession. On February 16, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared that "the defense of Saudi Arabia is vital to the defense of the United States", thereby making possible the extension of the Lend-Lease program to the kingdom. Later that year, the president approved the creation of the state-owned Petroleum Reserves Corporation, with the intent that it purchase all the stock of CASOC and thus gain control of Saudi oil reserves in the region. However, the plan was met with opposition and ultimately failed. Roosevelt continued to court the government, however—on February 14, 1945, he met with King Ibn Saud aboard the USS Quincy, discussing topics such as the countries' security relationship and the creation of a Jewish country in the Mandate of Palestine.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Bin Saud approved the U.S.'s request to allow the U.S. air force to fly over and construct airfields in Saudi Arabia. The oil installations were rebuilt and protected by the U.S., the pilgrims' routes were protected, and the U.S. gained a much needed direct route for military aircraft heading to Iran and the Soviet Union. The first American consulate was opened in Dhahran in 1944.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In 1945, after World War II, Saudi citizens began to feel uncomfortable with U.S. forces still operating in Dhahran. In contrast, Saudi government and officials saw the U.S. forces as a major component of the Saudi military defense strategy. As a result, Ibn Saud balanced the two conflicts by increasing the demands on U.S. forces in Dhahran when the region was highly threatened and lowering it when the danger declined. At this time, due to the start of the Cold War, the U.S. was greatly concerned about Soviet communism and devised a strategy of 'containing' the spread of communism within Arabian Peninsula, putting Saudi security at the top of Washington's list of priorities. Harry S. Truman's administration also promised Bin Saud that he would protect Saudi Arabia from Soviet influence. Therefore, the U.S. increased its presence in the region to protect its interest and its allies. The security relationship between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. was therefore greatly strengthened at the start of the 'cold war'.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: The United States of America and Saudi Arabian trade relationship has long revolved around two central concepts: security and oil. Throughout the next two decades, the 50s and 60s, relations between the two nations grew significantly stronger. In 1950, Aramco and Saudi Arabia agreed on a 50/50 profit distribution of the oil discovered in Saudi Arabia. In 1951 the Mutual Defense Assistance Agreement was put into action, which allowed for the U.S. arms trade to Saudi Arabia, along with a United States military training mission to be centered in Saudi Arabia.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In the late 1950s, King Saud, the eldest son of Ibn Saud, came to power after his father's death. During King Saud's time U.S.–Saudi relations faced many obstacles concerning the anti-communism strategy. President Dwight D. Eisenhower's new anti-Soviet alliance combined most of "the kingdom's regional rivals and foes", which heightened Saudi suspicions. For this reason, in October 1955, Saud had joined the pro-Soviet strategy with Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. Furthermore, Saud dismissed the U.S. forces and replaced them by Egyptian forces. Thus, this act had sparked and innovated a new and a large conflict in the relationship. But in 1956, during the Suez crisis, Saud began to cooperate with the U.S. again after Eisenhower forced the reversal of the Israeli, British, and French invasion to seize the canal. King Saud had admired the act and decided to start cooperating with the U.S. As a result, Egyptian power greatly declined while U.S.–Saudi relations were simultaneously improving.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In 1957, Saud decided to renew the U.S. base in Dhahran. In less than a year, after the Egyptian–Syrian unification in 1958, Egypt's pro-Soviet strategy had returned to power. Saud had once again joined their alliance, which declined the U.S.–Saudi relationship to a fairly low point especially after he announced in 1961 that he changed his mind on renewing the U.S. base. In 1962, however, Egypt attacked Saudi Arabia from bases in Yemen during the 1962 Yemeni revolution because of Saudi Arabia's Anti-revolution propaganda, which made Saud seek the U.S. support. President John F. Kennedy immediately responded to Saud's request by sending U.S. warplanes in July 1963 to the war zone to stop the attack which was putting U.S. interests at risk. At the end of the war, shortly before Prince Faisal became king, the relationship rebuilt itself to become healthy again.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: As the United Kingdom withdrew from the Persian Gulf region in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the U.S. was reluctant to take on new security commitments. Instead, the Nixon administration sought to rely on local allies to "police" American interests (see Nixon Doctrine). In the Persian Gulf region, this meant relying on Saudi Arabia and Iran as "twin pillars" of regional security. Whereas in 1970 the U.S. provided less than $16 million to Saudi Arabia in military aid, that number increased to $312 million by 1972. As part of the "twin pillars" strategy, the U.S. also attempted to improve relations between the Saudis and the Iranians, such as by persuading Iran to remove its territorial claim to Bahrain.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In November 1964, Faisal became the new king after the conflicts he had with his brother Saud, the erstwhile king. The U.S., on the other hand, was not sure about the outcome of such unplanned change in the Saudi monarchy. Faisal, however, continued the cooperation with the U.S. until October 20, 1973. Then came the low point of the relationship before 9/11, as Faisal decided to contribute in an oil embargo against the U.S. and Europe in favor of the Arab position during the Yom Kippur War. That caused an energy crisis in the U.S.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: "America's complete Israel support against the Arabs makes it extremely difficult for us to continue to supply the United States with oil, or even remain friends with the United States," said Faisal in an interview with international media.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Despite the tensions caused by the oil embargo, the U.S. wished to resume relations with the Saudis. Indeed, the great oil wealth accumulated as a result of price increases allowed the Saudis to purchase large sums of American military technology. The embargo was lifted in March 1974 after the U.S. pressured Israel into negotiating with Syria over the Golan Heights. Three months later, "Washington and Riyadh signed a wide-ranging agreement on expanded economic and military cooperation." In the 1975 fiscal year, the two countries signed $2 billion worth of military contracts, including an agreement to send Saudi Arabia 60 fighter jets. The Saudis also argued (partially on behalf of American desires) to keep OPEC price increases in the mid-1970s lower than Iraq and Iran initially wanted.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: The Saudis' increase of oil production to stabilize the oil price and the support of anti-communism have all contributed to closer relations with the U.S. In January 1979, the U.S. sent F-15 fighters to Saudi Arabia for further protection from communism. Furthermore, the U.S. and Saudi Arabia were both supporting anti-communist groups in Afghanistan and struggling countries, one of those groups later became known as the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: After the Cold War, U.S.–Saudi relations were improving. The U.S. and Saudi companies were actively engaged and paid handsomely for preparing and administrating the rebuilding of Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia transferred $100 billion to the United States for administration, construction, weapons, and in the 1970s and 1980s higher education scholarships to the U.S. During that era the U.S. built and administrated numerous military academies, navy ports, and Air Force military airbases. Many of these military facilities were influenced by the U.S., with the needs of cold war aircraft and deployment strategies in mind. Also, the Saudis purchased a great deal of weapons that varied from F-15 war planes to M1 Abrams main battle tanks that later proved useful during the Gulf War. The U.S. pursued a policy of building up and training the Saudi military as a counterweight to Shiite extremism and revolution following the revolution in Iran. The U.S. provided top-of-the-line equipment and training, and consulted the Saudi government frequently, acknowledging them as the most important Islamic leader in that part of the world, and a key player in the U.S. security strategy.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Relations between the two nations solidified even further past the point of the oil embargo, whereas the United States of America sent nearly 500,000 soldiers to Saudi Arabia in attempt to aid in protection against Iraq. Following Operation Desert Shield, which was a response by President George H. W. Bush to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, America kept 5,000 troops in Saudi Arabia to maintain their protection and trade relations.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 led to the Gulf War, during which the security relationship between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia was greatly strengthened. Concurrently with the U.S. invasion, King Fahd declared war against Iraq. The U.S. was concerned about the safety of Saudi Arabia against Saddam's intention to invade and control the oil reserves in the region. As a result, after King Fahd's approval, President Bush deployed a significant amount of American military forces (up to 543,000 ground troops by the end of the operation) to protect Saudi Arabia from a possible Iraqi invasion; this operation was called Desert Shield. Furthermore, the U.S. sent additional troops in operation Desert Storm with nearly 100,000 Saudi troops sent by Fahd to form a U.S.–Saudi army alliance, along with troops from other allied countries, to attack Iraqi troops in Kuwait and to stop further invasion. During the ground campaign of Operation Desert Storm Iraqi troops were defeated within four days, causing the Iraqis to retreat back to Iraq.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Since the Gulf War, the U.S. had a continued presence of 5,000 troops stationed in Saudi Arabia—a figure that rose to 10,000 during the 2003 conflict in Iraq. Operation Southern Watch enforced the no-fly zones over southern Iraq set up after 1991, and the country's oil exports through the shipping lanes of the Persian Gulf are protected by the U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: The continued presence of U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia was one of the stated motivations behind the September 11 attacks, as well as for the Khobar Towers bombing in 1996. In 2003, the U.S. withdrew most of its troops from Saudi Arabia, though one unit still remains.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: On October 20, 2010, U.S. State Department notified Congress of its intention to make the biggest arms sale in American history—an estimated $60.5 billion purchase by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The package represents a considerable improvement in the offensive capability of the Saudi armed forces.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: The U.S. was keen to point out that the arms transfer would increase "interoperability" with U.S. forces. In the 1990–1991 Gulf War, having U.S.-trained Saudi forces, along with military installations built to U.S. specifications, allowed the American armed forces to deploy in a comfortable and familiar battle environment. This new deal would increase these capabilities, as an advanced American military infrastructure is about to be built.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Upon becoming regent in 2005, King Abdullah's first foreign trip was to China. In 2012, a Saudi–Chinese agreement to cooperate in the use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes was signed. Abdullah also welcomed Russian president Vladimir Putin to Riyadh in 2007, awarding him the kingdom's highest honor, the King Abdulaziz Medal. Russia and Saudi Arabia concluded a joint venture between Saudi Aramco and LUKOIL to develop new Saudi gas fields.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: The news of Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s claim of new title as that of a Prime Minister in October 2022 was followed by criticism. Critics claim that the prince’s potential immunity from the lawsuits filed against him in the US would increase cover following his appointment as the PM. A judge in US gave lawyers a deadline of October 3, 2022, for filing a “statement of interest” on the question of immunity. However, considering the new position, the Biden administration demanded an added 45-day time to decide, as per a court filing viewed by the AFP.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: President Biden was quoted warning Saudi Arabia in October 2022 for its teaming up with Russia on the drastic production cut by OPEC Plus. The President told media, “there’s going to be some consequences for what they’ve done with Russia”. However, despite the criticism a plethora of corporate leaders from America are said to show up at Saudi-sponsored Davos in the Desert to be held in Riyadh in October 2022. The attendance by prominent corporate figures from America proves the limits of US efforts in punishing Saudi for crossing American policy goals.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: The United States after 2000 developed techniques to recover oil and gas much more cheaply, and soon became an exporter. Instead of depending on purchases of Middle Eastern oil and gas, it became a rival. Alwaleed bin Talal warned Saudi ministers in May 2013 that shale gas production in the U.S. would eventually pose a threat to the kingdom's oil-dependent economy. Despite this, the two countries still maintained a positive relationship.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In October 2013, Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar bin Sultan suggested a distancing of Saudi Arabia–United States relations as a result of differences between the two countries over the Syrian civil war and diplomatic overtures between Iran and the Obama administration. The Saudis rejected a rotating seat on the UN Security Council that month (despite previously campaigning for such a seat), in protest of American policy over those issues.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Saudi Arabia was cautiously supportive of a Western-negotiated interim agreement with Iran over its nuclear program. President Obama called King Abdullah to brief him about the agreement, and the White House said the leaders agreed to "consult regularly" about the U.S.'s negotiations with Iran.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In October 2018, the Jamal Khashoggi case put the U.S. into a difficult situation as Trump and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, share a strong personal and official bond with Mohammad bin Salman. During an interview, Trump vowed to get to the bottom of the case and that there would be "severe punishment" if the Saudi kingdom is found to be involved in the disappearance or assassination of the journalist. A vexed reply came from the Saudi Foreign Ministry saying if Saudi Arabia "receives any action, it will respond with greater action," citing the oil-rich kingdom's "influential and vital role in the global economy."


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: After weeks of denial, Saudi Arabia accepted that Khashoggi died at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul during a "fistfight." Adel al-Jubeir described the journalist's death as a "murder" and a "tremendous mistake." But he denied the knowledge of whereabouts of the body. Following the case, the U.S. promised to revoke the visas of Saudi nationals responsible for Khashoggi's death.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In November 2018, Trump defended Saudi Arabia, despite the country's involvement in the killing of Khashoggi. Experts said it is impossible for Mohammad bin Salman to visit Washington or have a direct relationship with the Trump administration.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: However, in November 2018, relations between the United States and Saudi Arabia re-strengthened when Trump nominated John Abizaid, a retired U.S. army general who spoke Arabic as U.S. ambassador to the country. Saudi Arabia also brought a fresh face on board, appointing their first female ambassador, Princess Reema bint Bandar Al Saud, to help calm relations in the wake of Khashoggi's death.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: On December 12, 2018, United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations approved a resolution to suspend Yemen conflict-related sales of weapons to Saudi Arabia and impose sanctions on people obstructing humanitarian access in Yemen. Senator Lindsey Graham said, "This sends a global message that just because you're an ally of the United States, you can't kill with impunity. The relationship with Saudi Arabia is not working for America. It is more of a burden than an asset."


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: On April 8, 2019, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that 16 Saudi nationals involved in Khashoggi's murder, including Mohammed bin Salman's close aid Saud al-Qahtani, have been barred from entering the U.S.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In 2019, the United States Congress issued official recognition of the Armenian genocide, which was the first time the United States has officially acknowledged the genocide, having previously only unofficially or partially recognized the genocide. Turkey, which has traditionally denied such genocide to exist, accused the United States of inflaming tensions. Donald Trump has rejected the resolution by the Congress, citing that his administration's stance on the issue had not changed. Despite Trump's denial, the resolution was sponsored by Trump's ally Saudi Arabia, highlighting increasing disdains and distrust toward Turkey from both Saudi Arabia and the United States.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: While the U.S.–Saudi relationship was growing, their first conflict began when the disorder broke between the Jews and Arabs in April 1936 in the British-administrated Palestine mandate. The U.S. favored the establishment of an independent Israeli state, but Saudi Arabia on the other hand, the leading nation in the Islamic and Arab world were supporting the Arab position which sparked up their first conflict. In other words, the U.S. oil interest in Saudi Arabia could be held hostage depending on the circumstances of the conflict. U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt sent the king a letter indicating that it is true that the U.S. supports the establishment of a Jewish state in Palestine, but it is not in any way responsible for the establishment. Ibn Saud was convinced by the message that the U.S.–Saudi relations had begun to run smooth again. Moreover, in March 1938, CASCO made a big oil discovery in Saudi Arabia booming the oil industry in the country and coincidentally the U.S. became more interested in Saudi oil. As a result, on February 4, 1940, as the World War II was approaching, the U.S. had established a diplomatic presence in Saudi Arabia to have closer relations with the Saudis and to protect it from enemy hand; Bert Fish, former ambassador in Egypt was elected as the U.S. ambassador in Jeddah.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: The United States dollar is the "de facto" world currency. The petrodollar system originated in the early 1970s in the wake of the Bretton Woods collapse. President Richard Nixon and his Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, feared that the abandonment of the international gold standard under the Bretton Woods arrangement (combined with a growing U.S. trade deficit, and massive debt associated with the ongoing Vietnam War) would cause a decline in the relative global demand of the U.S. dollar. In a series of meetings, the United States and the Saudi royal family made an agreement. The United States would offer military protection for Saudi Arabia's oil fields, and in return the Saudi's would price their oil sales exclusively in United States dollars (in other words, the Saudis were to refuse all other currencies, except the U.S. dollar, as payment for their oil exports).


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: On September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. and in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania by four hijacked airplanes killed 2,977 victims and cost an estimated $150 billion in property and infrastructure damage and economic impact, exceeding the death toll and damage caused by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor 60 years earlier. 15 of the 19 hijackers in the attacks came from Saudi Arabia, as did the leader of the hijackers' organization, (Osama bin Laden). In the U.S., there followed considerable negative publicity for, and scrutiny of, Saudi Arabia and its teaching of Islam, and a reassessing of the "oil-for-security" alliance with the Al Saud. A 2002 Council on Foreign Relations Terrorist Financing Task Force report found that "for years, individuals and charities based in Saudi Arabia have been the most important source of funds for al-Qaeda. And for years, Saudi officials have turned a blind eye to this problem."


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In the backlash against Saudi Arabia and Wahhabism, the Saudi government was portrayed in the media, Senate hearings, and elsewhere as


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: a sort of oily heart of darkness, the wellspring of a bleak, hostile value system that is the very antithesis of our own. America's seventy-year alliance with the kingdom has been reappraised as a ghastly mistake, a selling of the soul, a gas-addicted alliance with death.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: There was even a proposal at the Defense Policy Board, (an arm of Department of Defense) to consider 'taking Saudi out of Arabia' by forcibly seizing control of the oil fields, giving the Hijaz back to the Hashemites, and delegating control of Medina and Mecca to a multinational committee of moderate, non-Wahhabi Muslims.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In Saudi Arabia itself, anti-American sentiment was described as "intense" and "at an all-time high".


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: A survey taken by the Saudi intelligence service of "educated Saudis between the ages of 25 and 41" taken shortly after the 9/11 attacks "concluded that 95 percent" of those surveyed supported Bin Laden's cause. (Support for Bin Laden reportedly waned by 2006 and by then, the Saudi population become considerably more pro-American, after Al-Qaeda linked groups staged attacks inside Saudi Arabia.) The proposal at the Defense Policy Board to "take Saudi out of Arabia" was spread as the secret U.S. plan for the kingdom.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In October 2001, The "Wall Street Journal" reported that Crown Prince Abdullah sent a critical letter to U.S. President George W. Bush on August 29: "A time comes when peoples and nations part. We are at a crossroads. It is time for the United States and Saudi Arabia to look at their separate interests. Those governments that don't feel the pulse of their people and respond to it will suffer the fate of the Shah of Iran."


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: For over a year after 9/11 Saudi Minister of the Interior (a powerful post whose jurisdiction included domestic intelligence gathering), Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, insisted that the Saudi hijackers were dupes in a Zionist plot. In December 2002, a Saudi government spokesman declared that his country was the victim of unwarranted American intolerance bordering on "hate."


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In 2003, several terror attacks targeted U.S. compounds, the Saudi ministry of interior, and several other places occurred inside Saudi Arabia. As a result of these attacks, the U.S. decided to redevelop Saudi law enforcement agencies by providing them with anti-terrorism education, the latest technologies, and by giving them a chance to interact with U.S. law enforcement agencies to gain efficient knowledge and power needed to handle terrorist cases and to enforce anti-terrorist laws.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: American politicians and media have accused the Saudi government of supporting terrorism and tolerating a jihadist culture, noting that Osama bin Laden and fifteen out of the nineteen (or 78 percent of) 9/11 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Although some analysts have speculated that Osama bin Laden, who in 1994 had his Saudi nationality revoked and expelled from Saudi Arabia, had chosen 15 Saudi hijackers on purpose to break up the U.S.–Saudi relations, as the U.S. was still suspicious of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi's decided to cooperate with the U.S. on the war on terror. "Terrorism does not belong to any culture, or religion, or political system", said King Abdullah as the opening address of the Counter-terrorism International Conference (CTIC) held in Riyadh in 2005. The cooperation grew broader covering financial, educational, technological aspects both in Saudi Arabia and Muslim-like countries to prevent pro-Al-Qaeda terrorists' activities and ideologies. "It is a high time for the Ulma (Muslim Scholars), and all thinkers, intellectuals, and academics, to shoulder their responsibilities towards the enlightenment of the people, especially the young people, and protect them from deviant ideas" said Sheikh Saleh bin Abdulaziz Alsheikh, Minister of Islamic Affairs, in the CTIC.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Almost all members of the CTIC agreed that Al-Qaeda target less educated Muslims by convincing them that they are warriors of God, but they really convince them to only accomplish their political goals. Three years after the Saudi Serious and active role on anti-terrorist, Al-Qaeda began launching multiple attacks targeting Saudi government buildings and U.S. compounds in Saudi grounds. Their attacks exhibit their revenge against Saudi Arabia's cooperation with the U.S. trying to stop further U.S.–Saudi anti-terrorist movements and trying to corrode the U.S.–Saudi relationship and to annihilate it.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: After these changes, the Saudi government was more equipped in preventing terrorist activities. They caught a large number of Saudi terrorists and terrorists from other countries (some of them American) that had connections with al-Qaeda in one way or another. Some of these criminals held high rank in terrorist society, which helped diffuse many terrorist cells. In a matter of months, Saudi law enforcement officials were successfully able to stop and prevent terrorist activities. Also, they were successful in finding the source of terrorist financing.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In March 2018, a U.S. judge formally allowed a suit to move forward against Saudi Arabia government brought by 9/11 survivors and victim's families.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In May 2021, 22 federal lawmakers from New York and New Jersey pressured President Joe Biden to release the classified FBI documents that cite the role of Saudi Arabia in the 9/11 terror attacks. The lawmakers Ione Republican Nicole Malliotakis and NY Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, in their letter to the US Attorney General Merrick Garland challenged the "state secrets privilege" that was invoked by former US Presidents to restrict the classified FBI report from releasing. The evidence of Saudi Arabian involvement in the September 11 attacks first surfaced in a 2012 FBI memo during Operation Encore investigation.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: The international abduction of American children to Saudi Arabia provoked sustained criticism and resulted in a Congressional hearing in 2002 where parents of children held in Saudi Arabia gave impassioned testimony related to the abduction of their children. Washington-based "Insight" ran a series of articles on international abduction during the same period highlighting Saudi Arabia a number of times.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: According to a 2009 U.S. State Department communication by Hillary Clinton, United States Secretary of State, (disclosed as part of the Wikileaks U.S. 'cables leaks' controversy in 2010) "donors in Saudi Arabia constitute the most significant source of funding to Sunni terrorist groups worldwide". Part of this funding arises through the zakat (an act of charity dictated by Islam) paid by all Saudis to charities, and amounting to at least 2.5% of their income. Although many charities are genuine, others allegedly serve as fronts for money laundering and terrorist financing operations. While many Saudis contribute to those charities in good faith believing their money goes toward good causes, it has been alleged that others know full well the terrorist purposes to which their money will be applied.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In September 2016, the Congress passed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act that would allow relatives of victims of the September 11 attacks to sue Saudi Arabia for its government's alleged role in the attacks.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Saudi Arabia was involved in the CIA-led Timber Sycamore covert operation to train and arm Syrian rebels. Some American officials worried that Syrian rebels being supported had ties to al-Qaeda. In October 2015, Saudi Arabia delivered 500 U.S.-made TOW anti-tank missiles to anti-Assad rebels. Reports indicate that some TOW missiles have ended up in the hands of al-Qaeda in Syria and the Islamic State.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Significant numbers of Americans have criticized the conduct of Saudi Arabia in its ongoing intervention in the Yemeni Civil War, including alleged war crimes such as bombing of hospitals, gas stations, water infrastructure, marketplaces and other groups of civilians, and archaeological monuments; declaring the entire Saada Governorate a military target; use of cluster bombs; and enforcing a blockade of food and medical supplies that has triggered a famine. Critics oppose U.S. support of Saudi Arabia for this operation, which they say does not benefit the national security interests of the United States, and they object to the United States selling arms to Saudi Arabia for use in Yemen.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: The approval of the 2017 arms deal was opposed by various lawmakers, including GOP Senators Mike Lee, Rand Paul, Todd Young and Dean Heller along with most Democrat Senators who voted to advance the measure to block the sale, citing the human rights violations by Saudi Arabia in the Yemeni Civil War. Among the senators who voted against moving the measure to block the sale were Democratic Senators Joe Donnelly, Claire McCaskill, Bill Nelson, Joe Manchin and Mark Warner along with top Republicans, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Bob Corker and John McCain.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Tulsi Gabbard, a Democratic Representative from Hawaii, criticized the move, saying that Saudi Arabia is "a country with a devastating record of human rights violations at home and abroad, and a long history of providing support to terrorist organizations that threaten the American people". Rand Paul introduced a bill to try to block the plan calling it a "travesty".


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: U.S. Senator Chris Murphy accused the United States of complicity in Yemen's humanitarian crisis, saying: "Thousands and thousands inside Yemen today are dying. ... This horror is caused in part by our decision to facilitate a bombing campaign that is murdering children and to endorse a Saudi strategy inside Yemen that is deliberately using disease and starvation and the withdrawal of humanitarian support as a tactic."


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: A June 2022 report by "The Washington Post" and the Security Force Monitor at Columbia Law School's Human Rights Institute stated that a "substantial portion" of airstrikes by the Saudi-led campaign were "carried out by jets developed, maintained and sold by U.S. companies, and by pilots who were trained by the US military". According to the U.S.-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) analysis, airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition had killed 24,000 people, including 9,000 civilians.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: A group of Democratic representatives led by, Ilhan Omar and Joaquin Castro announced to reestablish oversight of atrocities that were committed by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen war. Omar accused the US administration led by Joe Biden of basing the foreign policy on ‘oil dependence and / or geopolitical whims of foreign despots’, following granting of sovereign immunity to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman by Biden. On 18 November 2022, 13 House of Representatives wrote a letter requesting the Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield to push for the reinstatement of the Group of Eminent Experts that reported of human rights abuses committed in Yemen previously, with the use of their influence.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In October 2018, serious allegations were put on Saudi for murdering a Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged Saudi Arabia to "support a thorough investigation" regarding the disappearance and "to be transparent about the results." Trump said, "We cannot let this happen to reporters, to anybody. We're demanding everything. We want to see what's going on there."


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Lindsey Graham, a senior Republican senator's reaction was stern, as he said "there would be hell to pay" if Saudi is involved in the murder of Khashoggi. He further added, "If they're this brazen it shows contempt. Contempt for everything we stand for, contempt for the relationship."


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Four of the alleged perpetrators accused of the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi reportedly received their paramilitary training from the United States in 2017. The training provided and approved under a State Department contract with an Arkansas-based security firm, Tier 1 Group, was publicly revealed in 2021. The State Department formally issued a license of training to the Saudi Royal Guard in 2014. The training started during the Obama administration and continued till the first year of President Donald Trump. Louis Bremer, a senior executive from Tier 1 Group's parent firm confirmed the role of his company in the training of the Saudis.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Ambassador at Large Sam Brownback condemned the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its religious freedom abuses, on the release of 2018 Report on International Religious Freedom by the State Department. Brownback called Saudi as "one of the worst actors in the world on religious persecution" and hoped to see "actions take place in a positive direction". The report details discrimination against and maltreatment of Shiite Muslims in Saudi Arabia that includes the mass execution of 34 individuals in April 2019, out of which a majority were Shiite Muslims.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In the wake of a declining human rights record, on July 17, 2019, lawmakers in Washington backed a resolution to block the sale of precision-guided munitions to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The measure would have denied billions of dollars of weapon sale to the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen where thousands have been killed in the 4-year long war. President Trump vetoed three such resolutions, and there was not a two-thirds majority in the Senate to override.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: On August 3, 2020, Democrats in Congress issued subpoenas in probe of the U.S. Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Democrats demanded the State Department officials to testify as part of investigation of 2019 arms sale and the dismissal of the State Department's inspector general, Steve Linick, by President Donald Trump in May on Pompeo's advice.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: On August 11, 2020, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was cleared of charges of wrongdoing in a disputed arms sale to Saudi Arabia and UAE. He had been accused of abuse of power after he used an obscure emergency procedure to bypass congressional refusal to approve an $8 billion arms sale to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan in May 2019.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In August 2016, Donald Trump Jr. had a meeting with an envoy representing Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince and "de facto" ruler Mohammad bin Salman, and Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. The envoy offered help to the Trump presidential campaign, which would be illegal under U.S. law. The meeting included Lebanese-American lobbyist George Nader, Joel Zamel, an Israeli specialist in social media manipulation, and Blackwater founder Erik Prince.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigated the Trump campaign's possible ties to Saudi Arabia. Lebanese-American businessman Ahmad Khawaja claimed that Saudi Arabia and UAE illegally funnelled millions of dollars into the Trump's campaign.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In April 2017, U.S. President Donald J. Trump attempted to repair the United States' relationship with Saudi Arabia by having the U.S. Defense Secretary visit Saudi Arabia. Trump has stated that he aims to help and assist Saudi Arabia in terms of military protection to receive beneficial economic compensation for the United States in return.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: On December 6, 2019, an aviation student from Saudi Arabia Mohammed Saeed Alshamrani shot three people dead and injured eight others at U.S. Naval Air Station Pensacola in Florida. This attack is concluded as a terrorist attack by FBI following the investigation. Alshamrani himself is a second lieutenant in the Royal Saudi Air Force who was participating in a training program sponsored by the Pentagon as part of a security cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia. Later, the Navy suspended flight training for all Saudi military aviation students pending the results of the FBI investigation.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: On July 3, 2020, it was reported that dozens of American diplomats will be leaving Saudi Arabia, along with their families due to the kingdom's failure at containing the coronavirus outbreak, even as its economy reopens. Some of the diplomats believe that the government of Saudi Arabia may be underreporting the number of coronavirus cases by thousands.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Some members of the Saudi Royal family are known to have committed serious crimes in the United States. Princess Meshael Alayban was involved in human trafficking for a long time.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: The secretary of state, Antony Blinken held a call in June 2022 with the family members of US nations detained overseas. However, the family members of those detained in Saudi Arabia were excluded from the call, garnering criticism against the state secretary, calling his actions “infuriating and discriminatory”. The call between Blinken and the families of those wrongfully detained in Russia, Rwanda, Venezuela, and other countries coincided with Joe Biden’s forthcoming trip to the Middle East. The decision especially attracted criticism due to a past pledge made by President Biden during his campaign of making Saudi Arabia a “pariah” for the 2018 murder and dismemberment of Jamal Khashoggi.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In July 2022, President Joe Biden visited Saudi Arabia, keeping the Kingdom’s human rights at bay. Biden was attempting to seek support against Russia in the Ukraine war, and to look for a solution for oil price surge and inflation at home. Post meeting, Biden suggested a potential higher oil production could be expected. In August, OPEC+ increased the oil production by 100,000 barrels per day, which was the smallest increase in history. Analysts said it was a “slap in the face” for the Biden administration by Saudi. In early October, Saudi, Russia and other OPEC+ members announced to cut the oil production by 2 million barrels per day. That amounted to the biggest cut since the Covid-19 pandemic. It was asserted as an intentional move to humiliate Biden and to aid Russia. Biden responded by vowing of “consequences” and said to reassess the relations with the Kingdom. Meanwhile, Democratic Senator Robert Menendez also threatened to freeze the arms sales and security cooperation with Saudi. Menendez said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was helping “underwrite Putin’s war through the OPEC+ cartel”. Saudi officials defended the oil cut saying it was crucial for the Kingdom’s core national interests.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: An American citizen, Carly Morris, was reported to be trapped in Saudi Arabia due to a travel ban, as brought into notice in early November 2022 by a human rights organization. Morris has been under a constant threat of getting rearrested after her first arrest that took place on 7 November in front of her daughter, according to Freedom Initiative. Morris’ daughter was forcibly returned to her father, a Saudi citizen, despite the girl’s protest to stay with her mother. As per Freedom Initiative, Saudi authorities claimed that Morris was arrested for communicating with the media and human rights organizations since it was a “crime”. She did not receive any legal representation to help her case, as per reports.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In April 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush and Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia issued a statement hailing "our personal friendship and that between our nations."


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Saudi Arabia engaged the Washington, D.C., lobbying firm of Patton Boggs as registered foreign agents in the wake of the public relations disaster when knowledge of the identities of suspected hijackers became known. They also hired the PR and lobbying firm Qorvis for $14 million a year. Qorvis engaged in a PR frenzy that publicized the "9/11 Commission finding that there was 'no evidence that the Saudi government as an institution or senior Saudi officials individually funded [Al Qaeda]'—while omitting the report's conclusion that 'Saudi Arabia has been a problematic ally in combating Islamic extremism.'"


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: According to at least one journalist (John R. Bradley), the ruling Saudi family was caught between depending for military defense on the United States, while also depending for domestic support on the Wahhabi religious establishment, which as a matter of religious doctrine "ultimately seeks the West's destruction", including that of its ruler's purported ally—the U.S. During the Iraq War, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, criticized the U.S.-led invasion as a "colonial adventure" aimed only at gaining control of Iraq's natural resources. But at the same time, Bradley writes, the Saudi government secretly allowed the U.S. military to "essentially" manage its air campaign and launch special operations against Iraq from inside Saudi borders, using "at least three" Saudi air bases.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: The two nations cooperate and share information about al-Qaeda and leaders from both countries continue to meet to discuss their mutual interests and bilateral relations.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Saudi Arabia and the U.S. are strategic allies, and since President Obama took office in 2009, the U.S. has sold $110 billion in arms to Saudi Arabia. The National Security Agency (NSA) in 2013 began cooperating with the Saudi Ministry of Interior in an effort to help ensure "regime continuity". An April 2013 top secret memo shows the agency's program of providing "direct analytic and technical support" to the Saudis on "internal security" matters. The CIA had already been gathering intelligence for the regime long before.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In January 2015, after the death of King Abdullah, the White House and President Obama praised him as a leader and mentioned "the importance of the U.S.–Saudi relationship as a force for stability and security in the Middle East and beyond."


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In March 2015, President Barack Obama declared that he had authorized U.S. forces to provide logistical and intelligence support to the Saudis in their military intervention in Yemen, establishing a "Joint Planning Cell" with Saudi Arabia. U.S. government lawyers have considered whether the United States is legally a "co-belligerent" in the conflict. Such a finding would oblige the U.S. to investigate allegations of war crimes by the Saudi coalition, and U.S. military personnel could be subject to prosecution.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: American journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote in October 2016: "From the start of the hideous Saudi bombing campaign against Yemen 18 months ago, two countries have played active, vital roles in enabling the carnage: the U.S. and U.K. The atrocities committed by the Saudis would have been impossible without their steadfast, aggressive support."


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In September 2016, Senators Rand Paul and Chris Murphy worked to prevent the proposed sale of $1.15 billion in arms from the U.S. to Saudi Arabia. The U.S. Senate voted 71 to 27 against the Murphy–Paul resolution to block the U.S.–Saudi arms deal.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: While the trade based relationship between the United States of America and Saudi Arabia is one that is vastly affected by political disagreements and positions, the trade has yet to cease since its conception. Relations between the two nations have never come to a complete halt throughout history due to the economic advantages both nations gain from one another. Statistically, the trade balance, using 2016 as a benchmark year, has declined to a deficit of 2.5 billion dollars over the 2017 year, popular opinion is that this exemplifies strong future relations between the two nations through the political and militaristic common grounds the United States has been developing with Saudi Arabia. Many experts believe the United States of America and Saudi Arabia are almost 'perfect' for trade due to oil being an essential commodity to the American people and the overall economy of the United States.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In January 2017, U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis "reaffirmed the importance of the U.S.–Saudi Arabia strategic relationship". Mattis has voiced support for a Saudi Arabian-led military campaign against Yemen's Shiite rebels. He asked the President to remove restrictions on U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia. On February 10, 2017, CIA director Mike Pompeo awarded the Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef with the CIA's "George Tenet" Medal.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: On February 19, 2021, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, saying that they "discussed the continued commitment to the 70-year US-Saudi security partnership". Austin expressed support for Saudi Arabia in the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In August 2021, President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan released a statement calling on OPEC+ to boost oil production to "offset previous production cuts that OPEC+ imposed during the pandemic until well into 2022." On September 28, 2021, Sullivan met in Saudi Arabia with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss the high oil prices. In late 2021, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm blamed the OPEC oil cartel led by Saudi Arabia for rising motor fuel prices in the United States. As the "Financial Times" reported on November 4: "The White House has said OPEC+ risks imperiling the global economic recovery by refusing to speed up oil production increases and warned the U.S. was prepared to use ‘all tools’ necessary to lower fuel prices."


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In March 2022, Saudi Arabia declined requests from the United States to increase its oil production. The U.S.-Saudi relations had been strained over the Biden administration's lack of support for the Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen. In April 2022, CIA Director William Burns traveled to Saudi Arabia to meet with bin Salman, asking him to increase the country’s oil production.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In October 2022 in response to cutting oil production despite American objections, Saudi Arabia implied the US was motivated by short-term political considerations of having lower gas prices during the midterm elections, while the US protested that Saudi Arabia was helping Russia's invasion of Ukraine by undermining sanctions, and US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said "we are re-evaluating our relationship with Saudi Arabia in light of these actions.”


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Saudi Arabia has been an enticing trade partner with the United States from the early 20th century. The biggest commodity traded between the two nations is petroleum. The strength of the relationship is notoriously attributed to the United States' demand on oil throughout the post modern era, approximately 10,000 barrels of petroleum are imported daily to United States since 2012 ("U.S. Total Crude Oil and Products Imports"). Saudi Arabia has consistently been in need of weapons, reinforcement, and arms due to the consistent rising tensions throughout the Middle East during the late 20th century and early 21st century. Post 2016, the United States of America has continued to trade with Saudi Arabia mainly for their oil related goods. The top exports of Saudi Arabia are Crude Petroleum ($96.1B), Refined Petroleum ($13B), Ethylene Polymers($10.1B), Propylene Polymers ($4.93B) and Ethers ($3.6B), using the 1992 revision of the HS (Harmonized System) classification. Its top imports are Cars ($11.8B), Planes, Helicopters, and/or Spacecraft ($3.48B), Packaged Medicaments ($3.34B), Broadcasting Equipment ($3.27B) and Aircraft Parts ($2.18B)".


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: On August 9, 2020, Saudi Arabia announced that it would cut down on oil supply to the U.S. for the third time in one year, in an attempt to suppress stockpiles in the global oil market to rebalance the demand and supply. However, experts claim that the strategy worked in 2017 when the demand for oil was high and may bear challenges and risks at the present time, due to the impact of the ongoing coronavirus crisis on oil demand.


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: In the year 2017, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was the United States of America's 20th ranked export market across the globe and ranked 21st in import markets. The most prominent goods set forth as exports to Saudi Arabia in the designated year (2017) were "aircraft ($3.6 billion), vehicles ($2.6 billion), machinery ($2.2 billion), electrical machinery ($1.6 billion), and arms and ammunition ($1.4 billion). In terms of statistics, the United States – Saudi Arabian trade declined approximately nine percent in U.S. exports in 2017 compared to the year prior; however, 2017 exemplified great reparation of the relationship through a 57% increase of exports from 2007. Imports between the two nations increased approximately 11 percent from 2017 to 2018, which is an overall decline of 47% since the year fiscal 2007. The entities that the United States of America seeks to import from Saudi Arabia has hardly changed over the years: "The top import categories (2-digit HS) in 2017 were: mineral fuels ($18 billion), organic chemicals ($303 million), special other (returns) ($247 million), aluminum ($164 million), and fertilizers ($148 million)".


title: Saudi Arabia–United States relations

text: Saudi Arabia and the United States of America have never fully eliminated their trading agreements, however their relationship has experienced consistent disagreements through its history. In the height of the Syrian Civil War, which started in March 2011, Saudi Arabia expressed disapproval of the United States' lack of action in eradicating Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. The United States' has consistently expressed disapproval of the treatment of Saudi Arabian women within the confines of the Kingdom. The famous criticisms of the early 21st century behind the relationship between the two countries is due to the mix of the disregard of the aforementioned issues and the public knowledge that trade between Saudi Arabia and the United States has trended upwards in the post 9/11 world. In recent years, the imports and exports of U.S- Saudi trades have not shown a percentage increase each year, where it topped out around 2012 and has been in slight fluctuation since, but the overall trend of trade has shown a positive slope. In 2001: U.S. exports were at $5,957.60 and imports were at $13,272.20 (in millions of U.S. dollars) whereas, controversially as it is believed, in 2012 the United States witnessed $17,961.20 in exports and $55,667.00 in imports.