Netanyahu Links Possible Normalization With Saudi Arabia to Iran 'Deterrence'

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia would "launch a historic change in Israel's position in the Middle East," while linking this goal to "deterring" Iran.

"This [normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel] is a goal that we are working on in parallel with the goal of stopping Iran, the two are intertwined," Netanyahu said at the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish American Organizations.

The Israeli prime minister claimed that "the Arab world recognizes the primacy of the Iranian threat," which had moved many Arab countries closer to Israel.

Netanyahu also noted that a possible peace with Saudi Arabia would open economic possibilities for Israel and the whole region.

The new Israeli government has intensified talks with Saudi Arabia on strengthening military and intelligence links over "threat" allegedly posed by Iran, media reported last week, adding that the negotiations were being supported by the United States. The improvement of the relations between the US' important ally Israel and Saudi Arabia might indicate a significant change of policy in the region, but at the same time, a complete shift might be inhibited by Riyadh's stance on Palestine, media reported.

The developments come amid the process of normalization of the relations between Israel and Arab states launched in 2020 by the US. As a result of these efforts, in September 2020, Israel, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain signed a set of documents dubbed the Abraham Peace Accords, and were joined by Morocco in December that year. In January 2021, Sudan also inked the declarative section of the Accords, but did not sign the relevant document with Israel, unlike other states, due to disagreements between the Sudanese military and civilian leadership over the issue.

The Abraham Peace Accords entailed the resumption of embassy operations, the establishment of direct flights and the lifting of bans on tourist trips and official visits between Israel and the three Arab countries.

As for ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the two countries have had no diplomatic relations since the January 2016 execution of Saudi Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a critic of the Saudi monarchy who was arrested repeatedly for suggesting that Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich Eastern Province should secede from the kingdom if Shia rights were not respected. Al-Nimr’s killing prompted mobs of angry protesters to attack the Saudi Embassy in Tehran, with Riyadh cutting ties and Tehran reciprocating.