Amid the growing number of issues in the Middle East, a key geopolitical shift is going largely unnoticed: U.S.-Saudi interests are diverging on key regional issues. In particular, Washington and Riyadh seem to be at odds over how to manage Cairo.

The Saudi kingdom Sunday warned the West that it should not pressure Egypt over the violent crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal spoke at a press conference in Paris on Sunday after meeting with French President Francois Hollande. The foreign minister said that threatening Egypt will achieve nothing. Saudi Arabia is reacting to the international pressure that has been building on Egypt's military regime since U.S. President Barack Obama condemned its decision to forcibly break up sit-ins organized by the Muslim Brotherhood to protest the ouster of former President Mohammed Morsi in a July 3 coup.  

President Obama announced the cancellation of exercises that U.S. and Egyptian military forces have held annually for years. Obama also warned Egyptian military chief Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi against the imposition of martial law after al-Sisi appointed 19 generals as provincial governors. The Daily Beast reported Monday that the spokesman for ranking Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy said the Obama administration had temporarily suspended the disbursement of the $1.3 billion of annual aid the United States sends to the Egyptian armed forces.

Even before Obama's Aug. 15 statement on Egypt, the Saudi government announced that it was willing to cover the amount that Egypt would lose should Washington decide to suspend aid. The United States and Saudi Arabia have long been aligned on most issues pertaining to the greater Middle East, and Riyadh has used its financial muscle to support U.S. foreign policy initiatives. The allies' divergence on Egypt thus represents a major break with the historical trend.

U.S. and Saudi interests have diverged in the past. One example can be seen in the decision by the administration of former U.S. President George W. Bush to side with pro-Iranian Iraqi Shiite forces to topple the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The Saudis resent the U.S. decision to effect regime change and the resulting rise of Shiite power in Iraq. However, the Saudis were reassured by the fact that Washington — while cooperating with Iran on Iraq — maintained a strong stance against Tehran.

After the Arab Spring reached Syria (a key Iranian ally in the Arab world), Washington and Riyadh moved to jointly back rebel forces fighting the Syrian regime. But the transnational jihadist forces that came to dominate the Syrian rebel landscape forced a review of Washington's position. The United States is all for delivering a major blow to Iranian influence in the region by toppling the regime of President Bashar al Assad, but not at the cost of empowering jihadists.

Riyadh on the other hand wants to weaken Iran at all costs and has been backing some of the most radical Islamist militant groups among the Syrian rebels. Further complicating U.S.-Saudi cooperation on Syria, Washington and Tehran appear to be moving toward direct public talks after the election of a new pragmatic president in Iran. Syria is a key item in such talks, because both Washington and Tehran see a negotiated settlement to the Syrian crisis as serving their interests.

While the Saudis worried about U.S. diplomacy regarding Iran, the Egyptian crisis broke out. Here again, the Saudis are far more interested in neutering the Muslim Brotherhood, whose agenda of a republican Islamic state challenges the Saudi model of a religious monarchy. The Saudis want the military regime in Cairo to crush the Brotherhood, and evidence suggests that Riyadh is using its financial clout over Cairo to encourage a tough stance by the current Egyptian regime.

For the Americans, however, a stable Cairo is the top priority. This requires a compromise between the Islamist movement and the military regime. The United States cannot turn a blind eye as Egypt comes under military rule and stamps out political dissent. Washington does not see the military regime as capable of single-handedly maintaining stability.  

While it is pressing Egypt's general staff, Washington doesn't want to provide the Brotherhood with leverage. Therefore, the United States is unlikely to upset relations with Cairo. U.S.-Saudi relations, however, are in a state of flux. Riyadh is caught between Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, and its imperatives will likely further the split between American and Saudi interests.