Saudi & UAE
1979 History
1979-07-03 The US launched Operation Cyclone to destabilize the Soviets before they invaded Afghanistan and to arm and finance Afghan fighters after the invasion. The US, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan funneled billions of dollars into it. Fighters saw themselves as religious freedom fighters against the Soviets, then later against the West and Israel. Religious fundamentalism was not noted by the US, so long as the fighters were anti-communist.
1979-11-20 The Siege of Mecca: Saudi Arabia had complicit military and economic ties with the US including enriching themselves with oil money, which Islamic radicals despised. Armed Islamic radicals seized Mecca.
1979-12-01 The Saudi royal family made a bargain on the ultra-conservative religious doctrine Wahhabi Islam and export this ideology to places like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Egypt, Sudan, and others. In exchange, it would try to keep local radicals in check and maintain their control.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-saudi-deal-is-a-faustian-bargain/
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2015/01/29/an-unholy-pact
2018 NBS Killed a Journalist
2018-10-02 Trump ignored the fact that Saudi journalist and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey.
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45812399
2022
2022-04-10 The House Oversight Committee investigated a $2 billion Saudi investment in Jared Kushner’s firm and Trump’s receipt of more than $250,000 in foreign gifts. In an article with CBS, Kushner stated he was not interested in rejoining the White House if Trump won the 2024 presidential election. In 2025, Kushner DID JOIN the White House as Trump’s special envoy in foreign affairs.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/10/us/jared-kushner-saudi-investment-fund.html
2022-06-06 The House Oversight Committee investigated Trump’s receipt of more than $250,000 in foreign gifts.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-foreign-gifts-missing-house-democrats-report/
2025 May
2025-05-21 Saudi Arabia gifted Trump with a luxury jetliner.
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/14/politics/video/trump-plan-accept-qatari-jet-digvid
https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/14/world/video/qatar-pm-becky-anderson-trump-luxury-jet-digvid
2025 November
2025-11-18 The White House hosted Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for talks involving Trump family investments, AI chips, nuclear energy, and the Abraham Accords. The crown prince had previously faced scrutiny over the brutal dismemberment and killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Jared Kushner has business ties with Saudi Arabia, has helped broker the Abraham Accords, and is a close friend with Salman.
https://thehill.com/homenews/5610821-trump-white-house-red-carpet-saudi-crown-prince-photos/
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/18/nx-s1-5608100/saudi-prince-white-house-visit
https://apnews.com/article/trump-saudi-crown-prince-mbs-505b32527e58d4bd49d5bc917efb4936
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45812399
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Jamal_Khashoggi
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/world/middleeast/trump-family-business-saudi-arabia.html
BUSINESS INTEREST: https://www.npr.org/2025/10/23/nx-s1-5582806/jared-kushner-mideast-business-ceasefire
2026 January
2026-01-15 The US officially started selling Venezuelan oil with the first sale amounting to $500M. The funds were then sent to banks controlled by the US government, including some based in Saudi Arabia.
https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/14/business/venezuelan-oil-us-sell-trump
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5689426-venezuela-oil-sale-trump/
2026 February
2026-02-01 Trump family’s World Liberty Financial sold a 49% stake in its cryptocurrency business to members of the Emirati royal family.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/02/trump-uae-crypto-deal
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/02/01/trump-uae-crypto-world-liberty-financial/
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/01/spy-sheikh-stake-trump-crypto.html
2026 March
2026-03-27 Trump attended a Saudi investor meeting in Miami.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEuuPpq_AMQ
2026-03-31 Trump proposed a massive gold-themed presidential library featuring his heckling “walk of fame”, the gifted Saudi jetliner, and a gold statue of himself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHtNpXBOj6k&list=WL&index=4
https://newrepublic.com/post/208455/donald-trump-presidential-library-make-money-hotel
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/04/trump-library-money-power-jet/686643/
2026 April
2026-04-06 Gulf investors, including Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund L’imad, backed Paramount’s proposed $81 billion acquisition of Warner
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/07/uae-ruling-royal-family-eu-farming-subsidies
https://deadline.com/2026/04/paramount-wbd-merger-foreign-backing-gulf-funds-deal-1236780058/
2026-04-28 The UAE departed from OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries).
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/uae-says-it-quits-opec-opec-statement-2026-04-28/
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/04/29/uae-opec-exit-oil-iran-war.html
2026 May
2026-05-08 The UAE arrested and deported more than 15000 Pakistani workers, any of them Shia Muslims, without formal charge.
TIMESTAMP 1:20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2p6lUw7Bx0&list=WL&index=1&t=9s
2026-05-23 Trump campaigned for countries to normalize relations with Israel by joining the Abraham Accords. According to ABC News Australia, leaders fell silent during a phone conference when Trump insisted these countries must side with Israel. In a social media post, Trump said he was “…mandatorily requesting that all Countries immediately sign the Abraham Accords…”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1omqCrvapw&list=WL&index=3
https://www.axios.com/2026/05/24/trump-iran-war-israel-muslim-countries-abraham-accords