Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Israeli When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled to Saudi Arabia last week for a secret night with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he and his Washington counterparts long hoped for a normalization deal between the Middle East. Saudi advisers and U.S. officials said rivals had reached out.
Instead, the Israeli leader returned home empty-handed after the meeting, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, also in Saudi Arabia at the time, saw the Trump administration’s efforts to reorganize and build the region’s politics as a possible cornerstone. Advisers and officials said the action against Iran had slipped out of its grasp.
U.S. officials hoped to speed up the so-called Abraham Accords, which would formalize relations between Israel and two other Gulf Arab states, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, and remove the biggest obstacle to Israel’s diplomatic coordination in the region. Part.
But according to Saudi advisers and U.S. officials, Prince Mohammed withdrew from the deal, largely because of the U.S. election results. Saudi aides said the prince, eager to build ties with President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration, was now reluctant to take the step, while he could later use the deal to help cement ties with the new American leader.
Mr Biden has said he also favors a normalization deal between the Arab states and Israel. He has taken a hard line on Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, particularly the assassination of disgruntled journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Saudi allies said the deal, led by the new president, could take steps to secure relations between the Biden administration and Riyadh, Saudi aides said.
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