Yesterday President Trump abandoned his laughable “Project Freedom” just five hours after his two lieutenants, Warcrime Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, had been sent out to promote it:
The president had pulled the rug out from underneath his top team. Even his closest confidants could not understand why.
“So f—–g embarrassing,” a source close to the president said shortly after the announcement.
The decision represented another abrupt about-turn by the president, who is becoming desperate to find a way out of the conflict that has dragged on well beyond the nation’s expectations. No amount of spin could conceal an abject failure on the high seas.
The reason for Trump’s retreat, claim NBC sources, were a revolt by Arab Gulf states:
President Donald Trump’s abrupt reversal on his plan to help ships go through the Strait of Hormuz came after a key Gulf ally suspended the U.S. military’s ability to use its bases and airspace to carry out the operation, according to two U.S. officials.
Trump surprised Gulf allies by announcing “Project Freedom” on social media Sunday afternoon, the officials said, angering leadership in Saudi Arabia. In response, the Kingdom informed the U.S. it would not allow the U.S. military to fly aircraft from Prince Sultan Airbase southeast of Riyadh or fly through Saudi airspace to support the effort, the officials said.
A call between Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman did not resolve the issue, the two U.S. officials said, forcing the president to pause Project Freedom in order to restore U.S. military access to the critical airspace.
Other close Gulf allies were also caught off guard; the president spoke with leaders in Qatar after the effort had already begun.
Saudi Arabia was not the only one to pull the brake:
Ryan Grim @ryangrim – 0:22 UTC · May 7, 2026
Per an admin official to me, Kuwait also cut off access, basing and overflight (ABO).
It is obviously not in Saudi and Kuwaiti interest to re-escalate the war. They would be the first to experience the deadly Iranian retaliation for any further USraeli bombing of Iran.
The Saudi protest also explains why, yesterday, U.S. military air traffic in the region had come to a sudden halt:
Following Trump’s Truth post, the US Air Force just went strangely quiet over Europe and West Asia. In the last 24 hours, American military aircraft airborne across the region have collapsed — from over 27 yesterday to just 7 right now. All logistics and tankers: C-17 Globemasters, a C-5M Super Galaxy, and KC-135 Stratotankers shuttling between Ramstein, Spangdahlem, Tel Aviv, Abu Dhabi, and Al Udeid. No combat birds. No surge.
The Saudi/Kuwaiti rejection of Trump’s escapades came after weeks of Israeli propaganda which had claimed that the Gulf Arabs were pushing for more war on Iran.
The uppity UAE, which had put itself on the side of USrael, may well have been for more war on Iran. But it had never made sense for the Saudis to take such a stand.
(Aside: Rumors have it that it was Saudi Arabia, not Iran, which yesterday bombed the UAE’s Fujeirah port in revenge for the UAE leaving OPEC.)
There are signs that the White House is waking up to the fact that its little Iran adventure is causing some serious damage – not only globally but in the U.S. of A.:
Privately, President Trump’s advisers are increasingly worried that Republicans will pay a political price for the rising fuel costs, according to people familiar with the matter. Many of those advisers are eager to end the war in hopes that prices will begin moderating before November’s midterm elections.
…
Sixty-three percent of Americans said they put a great deal or a good amount of blame on Trump for the increase in gas prices, according to a new poll conducted by NPR, PBS and Marist. More than 8 in 10 Americans said struggles at the gas pump are putting strain on their finances.Jet-fuel prices roughly doubled in a matter of weeks after the war began, and they have remained high. Airlines have said that will add billions of dollars of additional expenses this year, squeezing profit margins. U.S. airlines spent more than $5 billion on fuel in March—up 30% from a year earlier, according to government data.
In March, the price of a U.S. domestic round-trip economy ticket rose 21% from a year earlier to $570, according to Airlines Reporting Corp., which tracks travel-agency sales.
It seems that Iran was right when it calculated that it can sustain the economic consequences of a war longer than the U.S. is willing to sacrifice its own economy.
It is high time then for Trump to file for defeat.