February 13, 2026 | The Saudi Pivot Away from the United States and Israel

With a recent uptick in anti-American and antisemitic remarks and positions emanating from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, it appears as if the period of reforms and pro-western orientation initiated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has come to an end and that a new transformation is taking place. With its economy lagging and U.S. foreign policy erratic and unpredictable, MBS appears to be moving from possible normalization with Israel to alliances with Israel’s foes, Turkey and Qatar among others. Additionally, the long-standing friendship between the Saudis and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has taken a turn with competing interests in Yemen and diverging oil policies leading to a serious fracture in the once stable relationship. What is causing MBS to realign Saudi relationships in the region? What does this mean for the U.S., Israel, the UAE and the other Gulf nations who have had friendly relations until recently? Where does Iran fit into this realignment; and what does all of this mean for the future of the Middle East?

Joining us to discuss all of this are three prominent experts: Hussain Abdul-Hussain, research fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Victoria Coates, Vice President of The Heritage Foundation’s Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy, and Hussein Aboubakr Mansour, Milstein Writing Fellow with the Middle East Forum.