The US and Saudi Arabia traded petty insults in an feud over oil after a reported secret deal fell apart

• The US and Saudi Arabia are in a dispute over reports of an abandoned secret oil deal.
• The Saudis claimed to be acting more maturely than the US, prompting a withering put-down.

A US official mocked a comment by a Saudi prince who claimed the White House was acting immaturely, the latest exchange in an embarrassing feud between the nations over oil.

"It's not like some high school romance here," John Kirby, the communications coordinator at the National Security Council, said when asked about a comment by Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman.

The prince had criticized the White House for releasing some of its vast oil reserves to reduce prices, painting the move as childish and describing Saudi Arabia as the "maturer" country.

Kirby was not happy. "We're talking about a significant, important bilateral relationship, a partnership that has survived over 80 years," he said. "I don't think talking about it in terms like that necessarily lends the gravity of how important this relationship is, to the way that we're considering it."

The backdrop to the dispute is the decision in October by Saudi Arabia and other oil producers to cut output and keep prices high. The decision is directly at odds with the White House's goal of tamping down oil prices and taming inflation.

On Wednesday, however, a report from The New York Times added a personal element to the dispute, suggesting the Saudis privately told US officials they would increase supplies, the exact opposite of what happened.

Per The Times, US officials believed that they had secured a deal for higher output, and unsuccessfully scrambled at the last minute to rescue it when they heard of the planned OPEC+ cut.

"I think we as Saudi Arabia decided to be the maturer guys and let the dice fall," Abdulaziz told an international investors summit in Riyadh this week, according to Reuters.

Some Democrats have interpreted it as a political move by the Saudis, designed to damage the party in the midterm elections, where their candidates are facing Republican attacks over high gas prices.

President Joe Biden is currently attempting to cut off Russian oil exports, which are vital for keeping its economy afloat, in punishment for the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

The Saudi decision to side with Russia in cutting supplies is a snub to Biden, and comes after he risked backlash from his own party to visit Saudi Arabia's de-facto ruler, crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in July.

In response to the announced cut, some Democrats have urged Biden to make good on his campaign trail promise to isolate the crown prince over Saudi Arabia's assassination of dissident Jamal Khashoggi and its war in Yemen.

Biden said there will be "consequences" for Saudi Arabia over its decision to reduce oil supplies, but has not specified what they will be.

Saudi officials have said that the OPEC+ decision was driven by economics alone.