News - Middle East:   The White House says that President Joe Biden is re-evaluating the US relationship with Saudi Arabia after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies (OPEC+), in which Riyadh is a top producer, announced last week it would cut oil production.  

"I think the president's been very clear that this is a relationship that we need to continue to re-evaluate, that we need to be willing to revisit," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said in an interview with CNN on Tuesday. "And certainly in light of the OPEC decision, I think that's where he is."

The spokesman added that Biden is willing to work with Congress on the future of Saudi relations.

The oil-exporting alliance, which includes the 13 OPEC nations and 11 non-members including Russia, made the production cut announcement on Wednesday.

 The group agreed to cut output by 2 million barrels per day, equal to 2 percent of global supply.

Independent observers believe the Biden administration is worried that the decision to cut oil production will cause a gas price hike in the US ahead of the November midterm elections which Democrats are already set to lose to the Republicans.

The OPEC move was a large blow to the administration of Biden, who visited oil-rich Saudi Arabia on a July trip to appeal to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Bob Menendez, the Democratic chairman of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Monday, urged the country to freeze its cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including most arms sales, accusing the kingdom of helping to underwrite the Russian war in Ukraine.

"The United States must immediately freeze all aspects of our cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including any arms sales and security cooperation beyond what is absolutely necessary...," Menendez said.

Kirby said Biden was disappointed in the OPEC+ decision, and "he's willing to work with Congress to think through what that relationship ought to look like going forward."

"And I think he's going to be willing to start to have those conversations right away. I don't think this is anything that's going to have to wait or should wait, quite frankly, for much longer," Kirby added.

The White House spokesman said the issue does not only concern the war in Ukraine but it is a matter of US national security interests.