U.S. Reaffirms ‘Strategic Partnership’ With Saudi Rulers

 Washington Unable to Forego Lucrative Arms Deals

DUBAI (Kayhan Intl.) -- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, state media said on Friday, days after the White House said it would deal with the king, not his heir, and U.S. officials would engage their counterparties in the kingdom.
Crown Prince Muhammad, who is also Saudi defense minister, reviewed bilateral relations with Austin, especially in defense cooperation, state news agency SPA said.
Austin reaffirmed the importance of the strategic defense partnership between the two countries, and said the United States was committed to helping Riyadh "defend” itself.
Austin said in a statement he had a productive call.
"We discussed the continued commitment to the 70 year U.S.-Saudi security partnership, and I’m looking forward to working together to achieve regional security & stability,” he said.
U.S. President Joe Biden said this week he plans to recalibrate U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia and will conduct diplomacy through Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz rather than his powerful son the crown prince, widely referred to as MbS.
Biden is returning to "counterpart to counterpart” engagement, the White House said.
Saudi has led a war on Yemen since early 2015, leaving more than 110,000 people dead and the country’s infrastructure in ruin.
Still, Austin thanked MbS for "Saudi efforts towards a political solution in Yemen” and said the two countries had a shared commitment to confronting the threat posed by Iran in the region, the SPA report of the meeting said.

MbS is considered by many to be the kingdom’s de facto leader and is next in line to the throne held by 85-year-old King Salman. MbS in implicated in the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 at the hands of Saudi security personnel seen as close to the crown prince.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump maintained steady contact with the crown prince through his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner.
On his campaign trail before the November 3 presidential election, Biden emerged as an outspoken critic of MbS’s Saudi Arabia, saying he would make the kingdom "the pariah they are” and stop selling weapons if he was elected.
The White House announced earlier this month that the administration was ready to release a report detailing its understanding of who was responsible for the Khashoggi murder. The CIA has already concluded that MBS was behind the killing, partly due to his absolute control over Saudi affairs.
The Biden administration has also claimed that it would suspend weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, which has been leading the ongoing war on Yemen since 2015.