Washington ready for security guarantees for Saudi Arabia if it moves closer to Israel

(Riyadh) The United States is ready to offer Saudi Arabia security guarantees if it normalizes relations with Israel, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday, seeking to encourage Israel to accept the idea of a Palestinian state.

The administration of President Joe Biden, while supporting Israel, has promised this country a normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia, which could be a game-changer in the region, with the Gulf kingdom being the guardian of the two most important places. holiest in Islam.

To establish formal relations with Israel, Saudi Arabia would have to insist on the creation of a Palestinian state and security guarantees from the United States.

“The work that Saudi Arabia and the United States have done together under their own agreements is, I think, close to being completed,” Blinken said during a visit to the kingdom on the occasion of his seventh trip to the region since the start of the war on October 7 between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

“But to move forward with normalization, two things will be necessary: ​​calm in Gaza and a credible path to a Palestinian state,” he told a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, who met with Blinken in Riyadh, also said the conclusion of US-Saudi agreements was “very, very close.”

“Most of the work has already been done,” he said. But he added that a path to Palestinian statehood was “the only way to go.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a historic opponent of the creation of a Palestinian state, which the Biden administration sees as the only long-term solution.

Even if the Biden administration reaches a deal with Saudi Arabia, it remains to be seen whether it can pass Congress, where lawmakers, particularly those from Mr. Biden’s Democratic Party, have been critical of towards the kingdom for reasons related to human rights.

Riyadh’s calls to cooperate with the United States on civilian nuclear power have not been well received, with critics warning of a possible arms race with Iran.

Mr. Blinken met with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, on Monday evening. They “discussed ongoing efforts to achieve lasting regional peace and security, including through greater integration among countries in the region and enhanced bilateral cooperation between the United States and Saudi Arabia,” the State Department said in a statement.

“Growing threat”

This is Mr. Blinken’s first trip to the region since Iran’s mid-April attack with drones and missiles on Israel.

1^er April, a strike attributed to Israel targeted the Iranian consulate in Damascus in Syria, notably killing seven members of the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological army of the Iranian regime, including two senior officers.

Iran carried out an unprecedented attack against Israel on April 13 in retaliation. A week later, an attack blamed on Israel targeted central Iran, but Tehran downplayed it.

Mr. Blinken, who discussed the situation last week with Chinese leaders (China maintains good relations with Iran), suggested that diplomacy had helped ease tensions.

“We came very close to an escalation or an extension of the conflict, and I think through very focused and very determined efforts we were able to avoid that,” he said.

Speaking earlier Monday to foreign ministers from six Gulf Arab countries, Blinken said the episode had “highlighted the acute and growing threat posed by Iran, but also the compelling need to work together to the establishment of an integrated defense.

He said the United States would hold discussions in the coming weeks with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), made up of six Arab monarchies, on integrating air and missile defense and strengthening security. maritime.

The United States already has close military relations with all of these countries, but relations within this bloc have had their ups and downs.