Saudi insanity

True.
I can comment on Iran, as a piece of history to perhaps cast some light on why we are disliked and distrusted so much.
When oil was discovered in Iran the UK was the major imperial power.
We used our power and money to bribe the then Qajar dynasty to grant exclusive rights to what became BP.
There was some resistance, especially around Ahvaz and what is Khorramshar.
These places are on the Gulf, so using our navy and forces we would invade and crush resistence using rape and the burning of villages.
During this time no British national could be prosecuted there whatever the crime. Murder, rape, theft, whatever. In 1926 things blew up and a general, Pahlavi, led a coup and overthrew the 3 century Dynasty.

Things got twitchy but the UK bribed with some more share of the ever increasing oil revenues.
Then WW2 broke out and the new Shah refused to side with the UK. Scared of losing a key oil supply we invaded with the Russians and sent the Shah into exile.
End of war we let his son assume the throne.
But things were not the same.
The young Shah had no real authority and the people of Iran elected nationalist PM who proceeded to commence nationalisation of the oil industry. This was 1952. By now the Americans were the main power and they orchestrated a coup to depose of the elected PM (Mossadeque) and reinstated the young Shah. Things bobbed along to the mid 60s when the growing frustration of the people of Iran blew up again and the Shah watered off to Geneva for his own safety. By now the Iranian military was being controlled by the Americans and they imposed order. Shah returns but in 1973 (Oldie arrives😜) the Shah gets assy, with the middle East blowing, Arab Israeli conflict now in open warfare, Iraq regime over thrown (1974/5), Afghanistan in turmoil, he doubles the price of oil. Opec supports and does the same. 18 months later he does it again.
The country has a chance to feed it's people. They don't. A squalid corrupt regime squandered 100s of millions on themselves, vanity projects, and buying US/UK military equipment.
It also played a big role as spy/listening station for the West on Russia.
There were 50,000 Americans there when I was there, flaunting casual racism and arrogance, there were 1000s of Brits, most doing the same.
Then it all blew up, once and for all.
During this whole sorry 80 year period the needs of the indigenous Iranian population were very deliberately ignored. And we grew rich on dirt cheap oil.
During this period we, along with the French, latterly the Americans
1. Carved up Mesopotamia creating Iraq and Syria.
2. Created Israel and destroyed the lives of the indeginous Palestinians.
3. Invaded a sovereign state, Egypt, in 1956.
4. Betrayed the Kurds who were promised their own sovereign state with the formation of Iraq.
5. Supported the takeover of Saudi Arabia by the House of Saud.
6. Created Kuwait
7. Fought the Yemen war who wanted self rule.

Anyway, you get the point.
My point is you reap what you sow, it's hardly surprising that these countries dislike us. As a minimum.
A bit like the Irish did.



As a kid born to very young parents in knowle we went to school locally and were taught to sing "Onward Christian Soldiers", taught at secondary school of wonders of the British Empire, but nothing of the downside.
When I look back on those days I think now we kids who lived on council estates stretching from Wells Rd through Knowle West down to Bedminster, were never intended to have a real education beyond reading, writing and adding up.
I think we were just means of production or destined for the military.