According to leaked materials, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman privately issued a threat to harm the American economy after President Joe Biden warned of “consequences” for the kingdom’s oil production cut agreement with Russia, as reported by the Washington Post.
The Biden administration had expressed its intention to reassess its relationship with Saudi Arabia following Riyadh’s decision to significantly reduce crude production against the wishes of the United States. In response, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, commonly referred to as MBS, warned that he would no longer engage with the US administration if Saudi Arabia faced penalties from Biden. He further stated that there would be “major economic consequences for Washington,” according to the Post’s report on Thursday.
The threat was reportedly found in a classified document leaked on a Discord server. However, it remains unclear whether the remark was part of intercepted communications or a private message directed at the US.
Last October, Biden had expressed his dissatisfaction with Riyadh when the OPEC+ group, including Russia, agreed to cut oil production by two million barrels per day. At the time, the US was considering sanctions on Moscow’s oil trade due to the conflict in Ukraine. Biden stated in an interview with CNN that there would be “consequences” for Saudi Arabia’s actions, without specifying the potential measures.
During his presidential campaign, Biden had vowed to treat Saudi Arabia as a “pariah” due to the alleged involvement of the Crown Prince in the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, which Riyadh attributed to rogue agents. However, this promised action did not materialize, and insiders suggest that the Biden administration chose not to jeopardize bilateral relations. The US has a longstanding arrangement with Saudi Arabia, offering security assistance while retaining access to the kingdom’s oil, which is traded in dollars, thus supporting its status as a global currency.
Despite reports of strained personal relations between Biden and MBS, with no meetings since last July, several high-ranking US officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have recently visited Saudi Arabia. Critics of the US president have accused him of succumbing to Saudi pressure, while the 37-year-old Saudi Crown Prince allegedly mocks Biden in private, targeting his gaffes and lapses in mental acuity.
