Two American officials told NBC that U.S. President Donald Trump's sudden reversal in stopping 'Project Freedom' in the Strait of Hormuz 36 hours after it began came after Saudi Arabia banned the U.S. military from using its bases and airspace to carry out the operation. According to those officials, Trump surprised Gulf allies when he announced the operation on his social media platform Truth Social, sparking anger among Saudi leadership. In response, Saudi Arabia informed the U.S. that it would not allow it to operate aircraft from Prince Sultan Air Base southeast of Riyadh or cross its airspace to support the operation.