SATISH SHARMA - not just Rotigraphy.: Saudi Arabia refused U.S. access to its bases and airspace for Project Freedom, forcing Trump's suspension of the operation...

 BREAKING: Saudi Arabia refused U.S. access to its bases and airspace for Project Freedom, forcing Trump's suspension of the operation...

Per NBC News citing two U.S. officials, Trump surprised Gulf allies by announcing Project Freedom on social media Sunday afternoon without coordinating with them first.

Saudi Arabia was furious. 

The Kingdom informed the U.S. it would not allow the U.S. military to fly aircraft from Prince Sultan Airbase southeast of Riyadh, nor fly through Saudi airspace to support the operation.

A direct call between Trump and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman did not resolve the issue. 

Trump was forced to pause Project Freedom specifically to restore U.S. military access to the airspace it needs. 

The Pentagon was actively lining up additional ships for transit when the operation got halted.

This completely changes the narrative around Tuesday's pause. 

The official line was "great progress" toward a deal. 

The actual reason was that the U.S. couldn't continue the operation without Saudi airspace and the Saudis cut it off. 

Diplomacy may have been advancing in parallel, but the immediate trigger for stopping was operational impossibility, not strategic patience.

Source: NBC News

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Mario Nawfal

@MarioNawfal

 Per Politico, a senior Gulf Arab official cut through the diplomatic theater with one of the most accurate assessments of the entire war: 

"Trump badly wants the war to end, but the Iranians are so far refusing to give him what he needs to save face and leave. And he does  x.com/MarioNawfal/st…