US President Donald Trump’s abrupt reversal on his plans to ensure the passage of ships through the shuttered Strait of Hormuz came after Saudi Arabia and Kuwait suspended US access to airspace and bases.
Citing two US officials, NBC News reported that Saudi Arabia suspended US access to Prince Sultan Airbase and Saudi airspace after Trump announced “Project Freedom” on social media on Sunday afternoon.
The kingdom, frustrated by the announcement, informed the US that it would not support the plan.
Drop Site News later reported that a US administration official confirmed that Kuwait also cut off US access to its bases and airspace.
On Tuesday, Trump said he was halting “Project Freedom” in a bid to reach a deal with Iran to end the war.
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Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital line for global shipping, shortly after the start of the US-Israeli attack on the country in late February.
Earlier this week, Iran said it hit a US warship that tried to breach its blockade. It also fired missiles and drones at the UAE, in what appeared to be a response to US naval activity.
Iran said on Wednesday that it was reviewing a new peace proposal by the US after the Trump administration rejected an Iranian bid to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in return for an end to the war and the pushing back of negotiations on its nuclear programme.
Trump said on Wednesday he believed a deal with Iran was “very possible”, but threatened to resume his bombardment of the country if negotiations fell apart.
He added that the US would only settle for Iran’s “surrender”.
Gulf states hit hard
The US-Israeli attack on Iran and the subsequent closure of the Strait of Hormuz have heavily impacted the economies and security of the Gulf states.
Strikes launched by Iran at Gulf countries have caused deaths and infrastructure damage and have driven away tourists and business.
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The Wall Street Journal said on Thursday that hotel occupancy in Dubai was projected to fall to 10 percent in the second quarter of 2026, compared with 80 percent before the Iran war began, citing Moody’s Analytics.
Moody’s described the decline in the tourism sector as “an effective shutdown of large parts of the hospitality sector”.
Qatar’s liquefied natural gas exports have also ground to a halt, with the Gulf nation extending its force majeure on LNG through June.
But Saudi Arabia and, to a lesser extent, the UAE have managed to keep selling their oil via pipelines that bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi Arabia is exporting around five million barrels per day of oil via its East-West pipeline, which carries oil from the Gulf to the Red Sea.
The UAE has a pipeline to the port of Fujairah, which has allowed it to export oil at roughly half of pre-war levels.
