{"id":326818,"date":"2026-05-08T06:44:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T06:44:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=326818"},"modified":"2026-05-09T05:38:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T05:38:25","slug":"us-project-freedom-fell-apart-after-backlash-from-saudi-arabia-kuwait-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=326818","title":{"rendered":"US Project Freedom fell apart after &#8216;backlash&#8217; from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait: Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1 style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>The Cradle \u2013 May 7, 2026<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p>Saudi Arabia and Kuwait suspended US access to their military sites in opposition to Washington\u2019s so-called Project Freedom, according to a 6 May<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/white-house\/trumps-abrupt-u-turn-plan-re-open-strait-hormuz-came-backlash-allies-rcna343845\"> report<\/a> by NBC News.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTrump\u2019s abrupt reversal on his plan to help ships go through the Strait of Hormuz came after [Saudi Arabia] suspended the US military\u2019s ability to use its bases and airspace to carry out the operation,\u201d two US officials told the US outlet.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">EXCLUSIVE: Trump&#8217;s abrupt U-turn on a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz came after Saudi Arabia suspended U.S. access to its bases and airspace. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ugxw2ilzpD\">https:\/\/t.co\/ugxw2ilzpD<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 NBC News (@NBCNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NBCNews\/status\/2052192751710560412?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The officials said Washington&#8217;s Persian Gulf allies were \u201csurprised\u201d by Trump\u2019s announcement of Project Freedom over the weekend, which the US leader framed as a means of breaking Iran\u2019s control over the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn response, the Kingdom informed the US it would not allow the US military to fly aircraft from Prince Sultan Airbase southeast of Riyadh or fly through Saudi airspace to support the effort,\u201d the sources added.<\/p>\n<p>The report claims the issue remained unresolved even after a call between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MbS), highlighting Riyadh\u2019s support for Pakistani-mediated diplomacy.<\/p>\n<p>This forced Trump \u201cto pause Project Freedom in order to restore US military access to the critical airspace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>NBC News also reported that other Gulf states were \u201ccaught off guard\u201d by the US scheme. Qatar was informed only after the US operation had begun, and Oman was notified only after Trump announced it.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause of geography, you need cooperation from regional partners to utilize their airspace along their borders,\u201d an official stressed.<\/p>\n<p>According to <em>Drop Site News<\/em>\u2019s Ryan Grim, Kuwait also \u201ccut off access, basing, and overflight (ABO)\u201d to their western allies.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\uf6a8 Saudi Arabia and Kuwait Both Cut U.S. Base Access, Forcing Pause of Project Freedom<\/p>\n<p>Trump\u2019s abrupt pause of \u201cProject Freedom\u201d came after backlash from key Gulf allies led by Saudi Arabia, for being blindsided by the operation\u2019s announcement, according to NBC News. Drop Site\u2019s\u2026<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DropSiteNews\/status\/2052189537443422510?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 7, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>During the US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran, Persian Gulf states, especially Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, faced frequent Iranian retaliatory attacks, mainly because their bases and territory were used to launch strikes.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, US bases in those countries suffered <a href=\"https:\/\/thecradle.co\/articles\/satellite-images-show-iranian-strikes-destroyed-far-more-us-assets-in-west-asia-than-previously-reported\">severe damage<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Trump announced Project Freedom on Sunday. It was described as an effort to divert stranded ships from the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<p>A day later, two Iranian missiles were fired at a US warship near the Strait of Hormuz, while energy targets in the UAE came under attack.<\/p>\n<div align=\"center\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Footage captures the moments after a drone caused a fire at an oil facility in Fujairah.<\/p>\n<p>The UAE says Iran fired 15 missiles and four drones on Monday, while Iranian state media is indicating Iran wasn\u2019t behind the attack. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/G7SimR4JCS\">pic.twitter.com\/G7SimR4JCS<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AJENews\/status\/2051442753565827185?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">May 4, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Tehran confirmed the attack on the US vessel, but the country\u2019s military <a href=\"https:\/\/thecradle.co\/articles\/iranian-army-denies-attacking-uae-as-trump-suspends-project-freedom\">denied<\/a> striking the UAE.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, Trump paused the operation, allegedly at Pakistan\u2019s request and due to \u201cgreat progress\u201d in negotiations.<\/p>\n<p>The US has continued its illegal blockade of Iranian ports during the ceasefire and has imposed new sanctions. In response, Tehran has seized several vessels after Washington&#8217;s recent seizure of Iranian-linked ships.<\/p>\n<p>The Islamic Republic is seeking long-term management of Hormuz without US involvement, but has said it is open to discussing a joint process involving regional states.<\/p>\n<p>It also calls for a full ceasefire across West Asia and reparations for the damage caused by the US and Israel. Iran has vowed a \u201ccrushing\u201d response if Trump renews the bombing campaign, which he has repeatedly threatened to launch.<\/p>\n<p>US media reported this week that<a href=\"https:\/\/thecradle.co\/articles\/iranian-fm-declares-tehran-will-not-accept-unfair-incomplete-deal-with-us-during-china-visit\"> Tehran<\/a> and Washington were getting close on a deal involving a halt to uranium enrichment. An Iranian official referred to the report as a US \u201cwish list.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/thecradle.co\/articles\/us-project-freedom-fell-apart-after-backlash-from-saudi-arabia-kuwait-report\">Source\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Out of opposition to Trump&#8217;s policy on Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have reportedly restricted USAF planes access to their airspace. Is this why Trump has now suspended &#8216;Operation Enduring Freedom&#8217;? <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":39262,"featured_media":326819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[61,58],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-326818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-Commentary","category-Current_Affairs"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/39262"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=326818"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326818\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":326828,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/326818\/revisions\/326828"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/326819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=326818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=326818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=326818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}