Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman assured that his Sunni monarchy and the Jewish state were “getting closer every day” to the normalization of their relations
Saudi Arabia and Israel on Wednesday touted their diplomatic rapprochement under the aegis of US President Joe Biden, but Iran, their historic common enemy, warned that such normalization would constitute a betrayal of the Palestinian cause. On the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Joe Biden spoke in a hotel with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, nicknamed MBS, gave an interview on American television Fox News.
The Saudi prince assured that his Sunni monarchy and the Hebrew state were “getting closer every day” to the normalization of their relations, a historic development. “For us, the Palestinian question is very important. We must resolve it,” added MBS in this interview conducted in English and in Saudi Arabia.
“Historic peace”
He stressed that “negotiations were continuing well so far” and denied press reports reporting a “suspension” of discussions with Israel. On the contrary, “we hope that they will lead to a result that will make life easier for the Palestinians and that will allow Israel to play a role in the Middle East.” Simultaneously on Wednesday in New York, Joe Biden spoke with Benjamin Netanyahu about this Israeli-Saudi rapprochement.
“I believe that under your leadership, Mr. President, we can forge a historic peace agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia,” said the Israeli leader. The American president, whose country has the largest number of Jews outside of Israel, replied that “without Israel, no Jew in this world is safe.” These discussions are not to the liking of conservative Iranian President Ebrahim Raïssi, who gave a rare press conference Wednesday evening in a hotel opposite the UN headquarters in which he warned the United States, Israel, and ‘Saudi Arabia.
” Stab “
“We think that a relationship between countries in the region and the Zionist regime would be a stab in the back of the Palestinian people and the Palestinian resistance,” President Raissi told the press in New York. However, Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia, historic rival powers in the Gulf, also began a surprise normalization in the spring, under the aegis of China. The Iranian president was delighted that “the relationship with Saudi Arabia is developing”.
“However, initiating a relationship between the Zionist regime and any regime in the region with the aim of providing security to this Zionist regime will obviously not fulfill this objective,” he warned. The Iranian regime, an ally of Russia, has been isolated by Western sanctions and subjected to a protest movement for a year. Ebrahim Raïssi, whose country has no longer had diplomatic relations with the United States since 1980, once again demanded that the West put an end to reinforced sanctions after the failure of the agreement on the Iranian civilian nuclear program.
Dialogue”
This agreement between Iran and the great powers (United States, China, Russia, France, United Kingdom, and Germany) sealed in 2015 under the Obama presidency was shattered in 2018 when Mr. Biden’s predecessor, Donald Trump, withdrew. Since then, Iran has denied wanting to obtain nuclear weapons but its stocks of enriched uranium have exceeded authorized levels. Ebrahim Raïssi reaffirmed Wednesday evening that Tehran was in favor of a “dialogue” on a possible resumption of the 2015 agreement, but on condition that there were “acts” on economic sanctions.
The Saudi prince also warned that if Tehran acquired nuclear weapons, his country would do the same. Under the leadership of Joe Biden’s predecessor in the White House, Donald Trump, Israel had already normalized its relations with Morocco, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates. Between the Hebrew State, Egypt, and Jordan, the links are older.
Possible normalization with Saudi Arabia could involve security guarantees for the oil monarchy provided by the American ally. Mohammed bin Salman recalled that ties between Riyadh and Washington date back eight decades and that a security agreement between the two nations would “strengthen” their military and economic cooperation.
