Trump ‘scrapped Project Freedom after Saudi Arabia suspended US access to bases and airspace’

NewsWorldMiddle EastTrump ‘scrapped Project Freedom after Saudi Arabia suspended US access to bases and airspace’The scheme is said to have angered Saudi leadership who were not consulted in advanceMaira Butt Thursday 07 May 2026 09:27 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2972036","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/trump-project-freedom-saudi-arabia-iran-b2972036.html","title":"Trump ‘scrapped Project Freedom after Gulf ally suspended US access to airspace’"}}CloseTrump says Iran strike ‘would’ve been worth it’ even if oil hit $200On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"NSC","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/newsletters/onTheGround1_1.png","newsletterKey":"receiveOnTheGround","regSourceSection":"Middle East"}}President Donald Trump dramatically backtracked on Project Freedom after just two days because its Gulf ally S...