Raaaaacists!

WASHINGTON – Saudi Arabian officials delivered a snub to President Obama Wednesday as he arrived in Riyadh to reassure the anxious ally about his nuclear deal with Iran and to seek more cooperation in the fight against Islamist extremists in Syria and Iraq.

Stepping off of Air Force One at the airport in the Saudi capital, Mr. Obama was greeted not by King Salman but by a lower-ranking royal, Prince Faisal bin Bandar Al Saud, the governor of Riyadh. Ahead of the president’s arrival, Saudi state television showed the king personally greeting senior officials from other Gulf nations arriving at an air base.

Unlike some previous visits, Mr. Obama’s arrival was not shown live on Saudi state television, either.

Mustafa Alani, a security analyst at the Gulf Research Center, said the Saudi decision not to send a high-level delegation to greet Mr. Obama was unusual and intended to send a clear message that they have little faith in him.

“He will find a leadership that’s not ready to believe him,” Mr. Alani said. “The Saudis had disagreements with previous presidents. Here you have deep distrust that the president won’t deliver anything.”

Most of the Gulf Arab monarchies have in private been sorely disappointed by Mr. Obama’s presidency, regarding it as a period in which the U.S. has pulled back from the region, giving more space to their arch rival Iran to expand its influence.

Middle East analysts said Mr. Obama, who angered the Saudis in a recent interview by saying they should “share” the region with Iran, is unlikely to get much cooperation from Gulf leaders who are waiting for the lame-duck president to leave office.