As the White House works to normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, President Joe Biden sent his national security adviser Jake Sullivan to the country on Thursday for discussions with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de facto ruler.
The Crown Prince, who is frequently referred to by his initials MbS, along with other Saudi officials were to meet with Sullivan, according to a brief statement from the White House.
According to the White House, the extensive discussions included plans to “advance a common vision for an increasingly peaceful, prosperous, secure, and stable Middle East” and efforts to put an end to the protracted conflict between the Saudis and Iran’s ally Houthis in Yemen.
According to a White House National Security Council member familiar with the situation, Sullivan and the prince also addressed the Biden administration’s efforts to improve ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly remark.
The Saudi Press Agency, which is administered by the government of the kingdom, confirmed the meeting but did not provide any other details beyond the statement that the two parties “discussed the Saudi-U.S. strategic relationship and ways to improve them in various fields, as well as to the latest regional as well as international developments of mutual concern.”
The conference, which was attended by the Saudi Arabian defense and energy ministries as well as the head of its Public Investment Fund, was not documented by the government. Without much success, the United States has lobbied Riyadh to cease its conflict in Yemen while simultaneously attempting to influence it about oil prices around the world.
The Trump administration assisted in bringing about the “Abraham Accords,” which helped normalize relations between Israel & the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Morocco. The endeavor to strengthen the traditionally tense relationship between the Middle East’s two major powers follows.
A normalization agreement with Saudi Arabia, a highly powerful and affluent Arab state, has the power to fundamentally alter the region and elevate Israel’s stature. However, brokering such a deal would be difficult because the kingdom has declared that it will not recognize Israel in its official capacity until the protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been resolved.
Following Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip to the region last month, which was partly intended to encourage normalization between Israel & Saudi Arabia, Sullivan’s visit takes place.
Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan stated during Blinken’s recent visit that normalizing relations with Israel would have “limited benefits” without “finding a way to peace for the Palestinian people.”
At a time when Israel is governed by the most right-wing administration in its history and when tensions with the Palestinians have risen, the Saudis have also demonstrated reluctance to move forward with mending relations with Israel. Israel is still embroiled in a political crisis around Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s proposal to weaken the country’s judiciary, which has sparked the largest demonstrations the nation has ever seen.
The establishment of a Palestinian state in the areas of the West Bank, east Jerusalem, and Gaza—territories Israel took in the 1967 war—has received repeated calls from Saudi Arabia.
Nonproliferation specialists are concerned because Saudi Arabia has been pushing for a nuclear cooperation agreement that involves American permission to enrich uranium in the country. This is because spinning centrifuges could lead to the development of a weapons program.
As Tehran’s program continues to develop closer to weapons-grade levels, Prince Mohammed has already declared that the kingdom would go after an atomic bomb if Iran possessed one, potentially igniting a nuclear arms race throughout the area.