Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed bin Salman stated that talks were progressing with Israel, aiming to sign a peace treaty. MBS expressed caution regarding Iran’s nuclear program, saying, “If they get one, we will get one.”
Saudi Arabia and Israel voiced optimism Wednesday that they were moving closer to a historic normalization of ties as Iran, their common foe, accused the kingdom of betraying the Palestinians through the US-led effort.
US President Joe Biden hopes to transform the Middle East and score an election-year diplomatic victory by securing recognition of the Jewish state by Saudi Arabia, the guardian of Islam’s two holiest sites.
Meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Biden quipped that he had “Irish optimism” on securing a deal with Saudi Arabia.
In an interview with Fox News, MBS said talks were moving forward with Israel, denying a media report that the process was suspended. “Every day we get closer,” the prince said.
But he noted the kingdom was seeking more progress on ensuring the rights of the Palestinians as Netanyahu’s hard-right government continues to pursue controversial settlements in the occupied West Bank.
He also warned that Saudi Arabia was closely watching Iran, whose Shiite clerical leaders are arch-foes of the conservative Saudi kingdom and Israel.
Asked how the kingdom would react if Iran developed a nuclear weapon, MBS said, “If they get one, we have to get one.”
Saudi Arabia has also been seeking security guarantees, including reportedly a treaty, with the United States in return for normalizing with Israel, the region’s only nuclear weapons state, even if an undeclared one.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon and has repaired relations with Saudi Arabia recently through talks led by China and through the easing of a proxy conflict in Yemen.
Israel normalized relations decades ago with neighbouring Egypt and Jordan and, in 2020, added three more Arab states, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco, in what then-US president Donald Trump considered a towering foreign policy achievement.
Miroslava Salazar, with AFP
