Nearly 50 years ago, Jimmy Carter readied tactical nukes to stop Soviet forces from seizing revolutionary Iran and the Gulf’s oil crown. Gulf regimes have since hidden behind America’s shield, which liberated Kuwait from Iraqi occupation in 1991. But as US interest in the region waned, some Gulf nations rushed to embrace muscular Israel to confront their shared enemy: Islamic Iran. Saudi-Israeli normalization once seemed all but inevitable, until Tehran unleashed a barrage of missiles on Saudi energy sites. Riyadh’s response? It cowered in silence and begged Iran for mercy.

Saudi Arabia’s reaction to Iran’s assault defied logic. Riyadh issued ritual denunciations of Tehran’s belligerence and once summoned the Iranian ambassador. Yet, it refused to sever diplomatic ties, the decisive step taken by its much smaller neighbor, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). On the morning after the April 8 ceasefire, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi placed calls to the foreign ministers of the five Gulf states Tehran had battered for more than five weeks: Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, and the UAE. Only the Saudis took the call.

Even as one of Iran’s primary victims, Riyadh positioned itself as a neutral arbiter. Its statements expressed vague “concern over escalation” and urged “self-restraint” from all sides, as if Iran had not struck at least four Saudi energy installations, inflicting billions worth of damage.

Turki al-Faisal, King........

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