General Discussion

Nixon related to the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Nixon had guaranteed King Faisal that he would be even handed regarding resupplying Israel and that he would not escalate that resupply. That guarantee allowed Faisal to go to the other leaders in OPEC and the Arab World and project "power and control" and to try and keep a lid on things. Then Nixon turned around and made a public announcement that he was increasing the resupply to Israel way beyond what was even requested by Israel.

So Faisal was made to look like a weak fool to the other leaders and the people. He responded immediately. Initially during the War the Arab states had only reduced production to the US and others by 5% largely because of assurances from Faisal that he had great influence with Nixon. But Nixon saw the resupply of arms as a grand gesture that might divert attention from Watergate. So to try and save himself he stabbed Faisal in the back.

"Israel took heavy losses in men and material during the fighting against Egypt and Syria, and on October 18, 1973, Meir requested $850 million worth of American arms and equipment to replace its material losses.[50] Nixon decided characteristically to act on an epic scale and instead of the $850 million worth of arms requested sent a request to Congress for some $2.2 billion worth of arms to Israel, which was promptly approved.[50] Nixon, whose administration was being badly battered by the Watergate scandal, felt that a bold foreign policy move might resuscitate his administration."

"The arms lift enraged King Faisal of Saudi Arabia and he retaliated on October 20, 1973, by placing a total embargo on oil shipments to the United States, to be joined by most of the other oil-producing Arab states.[52] Even though Algeria, Iraq and Libya were promoting the embargo they were not actively enforcing it.[53] Faisal was angry that Israel had only asked for $850 million worth of American weapons, and instead received an unsolicited $2.2 billion worth of weapons, which he perceived as a sign of the pro-Israeli slant of American foreign policy.[52] Faisal also felt insulted that Nixon had just promised Saqqaf a "honorable" peace the day before he submitted the request to Congress for some $2.2 billion worth of arms for Israel, which he saw as an act of duplicity on Nixon's part.[51] Faisal had been opposed to a total embargo and only agreed to the 5% cut on October 17 under pressure from other Arab states.[51] Faisal felt his efforts on behalf the United States were not being appreciated in Washington, which increased his fury at Nixon.[51]

Saudi Arabia only consented to the embargo after Nixon's promise of $2.2 billion in military aid to Israel.[54] On the afternoon of October 19, 1973, Faisal was in his office when he learned about the United States sending $2.2 billion worth of weapons to Israel, and discussed the issue with two of his closest advisers, Abdullah ibn Abdul Rahman and Rashad Pharaon.[55] The king called Yamani at about 8 pm, and told him he was needed at the Riyassa Palace immediately.[55] Yamani told the king: "The TV news goes out at nine. If you make a decision now, we can get it announced at once".[55] The king replied "Write this down" and announced he was placing a total embargo on the United States.[55]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_oil_crisis