It’s Monday, May 25, and the bill for American action has arrived at the Saudi door. 

Last night, Donald Trump reportedly demanded that in exchange for finalizing the current ceasefire deal with Iran—the one desperately needed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz—the Gulf states would have to pay a massive premium: immediate normalization with Israel. 

According to my sources, the ultimatum was met with literal silence. The Arab leaders were so thoroughly stunned by the audacity of the request that Trump actually had to break the silence with a follow-up: “Are you still there?”