SMH. What I don't understand is articles like this

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-is-wrong-saudi-arabia-needs-us-more-than-us-needs-the-kingdom-2018-11

This is coming out in the aftermath of Trump's weapons deal with the Saudis last year. The US does not need to depend on Saudi Oil anymore and since the US is being antagonistic to Iran, they don't need their oil neither.

So what's keeping the US-Saudi relationship and the US-Iran antagonism alive? Both the Saudis and Iranians have been accused of funding extremists groups with anti-American and western views, but why does US consider one an ally and the other the enemy?

Sunni vs Shiite ideology perhaps

Saudi Arabia is the top US weapons buyer, or in Trump's words, 'Saudi Arabia buys a lot, I don't want to lose them'.

Try asking questions like this on Quora, I assure you the answers you'll get there will leave an impression on you.

XxSabrinaxX:
SMH. What I don't understand is articles like this

https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-is-wrong-saudi-arabia-needs-us-more-than-us-needs-the-kingdom-2018-11

This is coming out in the aftermath of Trump's weapons deal with the Saudis last year. The US does not need to depend on Saudi Oil anymore and since the US is being antagonistic to Iran, they don't need their oil neither.

So what's keeping the US-Saudi relationship and the US-Iran antagonism alive? Both the Saudis and Iranians have been accused of funding extremists groups with anti-American and western views, but why does US consider one an ally and the other the enemy?

It is complicated. Mostly Saudis/Israel/USA/Britian/and some other Arab countries vs. Iran/Russia/Syria. The conflicts go way back over a thousand years as Iranians are Persians, obviously the Arab countries are Arabic. A lot changed after the Iranian Revolution in 79', and relations with Arabs declined, then there was the Iran-Iraq war in the 80's where most of the Arabic countries supported Iraq. Also in 79' Iranians invaded the US Embassy in Iran and held American diplomats and citizens hostage for well about a year and a half, about 50 Americans.

It's the petrodollar control. By continuing to sustain oil pricing in US dollars the US gains high demand for the dollar as the preferred trade currency which of course means the US dollar acquires value. Saudi Arabia is one of the founding members of OPEC along with other members Kuwait, Iraq and Iran, their influence within the organisation can not be understated so that even though the US is not a member of OPEC, it can exercise proxy control.