Trump's Free Plan Suddenly Suspended! Ally Saudi Arabia Furious, Accusing "No Prior Notice," Refuses to Open Airspace

Trump announces the suspension of the “Project Freedom” escort mission. Saudi Arabia refuses to allow U.S. forces to use its military bases and airspace, causing the operation to stall due to a lack of regional support.

The Hormuz Strait escort mission announced by U.S. President Trump—“Project Freedom”—was immediately called off in an emergency less than two days after it was launched. Two U.S. officials said the reason was that key ally Saudi Arabia refused to let U.S. forces use its military bases and airspace, forcing Trump to temporarily put the escort operation on hold first.

Trump’s “sudden announcement” angers allies; Saudi Arabia closes airspace, triggering a crisis

According to NBC, last weekend Trump announced on social media the “Project Freedom” plan, aiming to use military aircraft to escort commercial ships and help them break through Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. However, it seems the matter was not sufficiently communicated in advance to the Persian Gulf allies, sparking strong dissatisfaction among Saudi leadership. The Saudi side notified the U.S., banning U.S. forces from using the Prince Sultan Air Base southeast of Riyadh and also not allowing flights over its airspace to support the operation.

Even though Trump later held an emergency call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the disagreement could not be resolved. In the end, he was forced to announce the plan would be suspended.

Qatar, Oman, and other Gulf allies were not informed either. One Omani diplomat revealed that the U.S. came to coordinate only after the plan was announced: “The U.S. announced first and then came to communicate with us, but we didn’t feel angry about it.” For its part, the White House insisted that “regional allies had been notified in advance.”

U.S. troop deployment in the Middle East—actually tied up by too many constraints? Allies’ airspace and bases become key

The incident highlights the real predicament facing U.S. military operations in the Middle East, which are highly dependent on regional allies. Geographically, Saudi Arabia and Jordan are key bases for fighter aircraft takeoff and landing, Kuwait provides an unavoidable overflight corridor, and Oman plays a dual role—both granting overflight permissions and providing naval logistics support.

A U.S. official said that without these permissions, U.S. fighter jets cannot provide an air cover umbrella for ships passing through the strait: “Because of geographic factors, you have to get the cooperation of regional partners to use their airspace along the border lines—basically there’s no other way.”

When the plan was called off, two U.S.-flagged vessels had already successfully passed through the strait, while several other warships were assembling in the Persian Gulf and standing by.

At a critical moment in ceasefire talks, Trump pushes hard for an agreement ahead of the “Trump-Xi meeting”

On Wednesday, Trump said on Truth Social that “Project Freedom” would be paused for a period of time, pending whether the U.S.-Iran agreement could be completed and signed. He also stressed through the White House that “the negotiations over the past 24 hours have gone very smoothly,” and that Iran “is willing to reach an agreement.” He further told PBS that an agreement could be reached before his trip next week to Beijing to meet with Xi Jinping.

An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson confirmed that Tehran is reviewing the latest U.S. peace proposal and will further discuss it through intermediaries via Pakistan. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also traveled to Tehran this week and urged that a comprehensive ceasefire be reached as soon as possible.

Midterm election pressure intensifies—key to peace talks and Republican seat retention

With the midterm elections in November continuing to count down, Republicans need to hold onto their slim majority in the House and their majority in the Senate. But the war, which has yet to end for a long time, is increasingly becoming a political burden. A Jordanian official pointed out that Iran’s economic difficulties may be the most concrete driving force behind the negotiations: “Iran doesn’t have the economic capacity to keep going; their economy is collapsing, and they can’t even pay salaries.”

At present, U.S. forces in the Gulf region are substantial, including two aircraft carrier strike groups, with force levels far exceeding those at the outbreak of war on February 28 this year. The escort mission under “Project Freedom” and the bombing operation of the same period, “Epic Fury,” belong to different operational systems, and the latter has continued since the start of hostilities.

As progress emerged in U.S.-Iran peace negotiations, global financial markets immediately saw broad gains. Oil prices fell by more than 7% in a single day, marking the largest single-day drop in recent months; the three major U.S. stock indexes hit new all-time highs; and the cryptocurrency market also benefited in parallel, with Bitcoin reaching a peak of 82,850 US dollars.

• This article is reprinted with permission from: “Chain News”
• Original title: “Trump’s ‘Project Freedom’ forced to be halted! Allies Saudi Arabia furious and refuse to open airspace: no prior notice”
• Original author: Crumax