US Senator Lindsey Graham lambasted Saudi Arabia on Monday for not attacking Iran and threatened “consequences” against other Gulf countries if they do not join the US-Israeli war on Iran, which the kingdom has opposed from the outset.
“It is my understanding the Kingdom refuses to use their capable military as a part of an effort to end the barbaric and terrorist Iranian regime who has terrorized the region and killed 7 Americans,” Graham wrote on X.
“Should America do a defense agreement with a country like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that is unwilling to join a fight of mutual interest?” he added.
Graham’s post effectively confirms what a US official told Middle East Eye previously: that Riyadh has prevented the US from accessing its bases for offensive operations.
US Central Command said on Monday that a seventh American soldier died from wounds he sustained on 1 March in an Iranian strike on a US military base in Saudi Arabia.