A recent trip by the American national security adviser to Saudi Arabia is but one piece of evidence that the White House is trying to broker an agreement between Jerusalem and Riyadh. To Enia Krivine, such an agreement, despite facing “myriad but surmountable challenges,” would be a “boon to regional stability and security” as well as “consistent with U.S. interests.” Yet any deal would necessarily result from three-way negotiations, and involve concessions on all sides. Krivine fears the Biden administration might ask for too much:
Saudi Arabia is seeking a NATO-level defense treaty with America, U.S. approval of a civilian nuclear program, and advanced missile-defense capabilities from the U.S. military. The Biden administration is asking for an end to the Saudis’ involvement in the war in Yemen, a massive Saudi aid package for the Palestinians, and the curtailment of Saudi-China relations. If Washington and Riyadh agree to these terms, Saudi Arabia would normalize ties with Israel, while the Jewish state would make concessions to the Palestinians.
[At the same time], the emerging picture of what the Biden administration is negotiating with the mullahs in Tehran . . . would reportedly allow the Islamist regime to continue enriching uranium to 60-percent purity in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief. Yet 60-percent-enriched uranium is only a short turn of the screw to weapons-grade, constituting 99 percent of the effort needed to reach that threshold. Iran would undoubtedly channel any sanctions relief to its expeditionary forces in the region, threatening both Israel and the Saudis.
The U.S. is the lynchpin of any future normalization agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The Biden administration should doggedly pursue normalization because of the benefits it would bring to America and our regional allies. At the same time, the administration must abandon talks with Iran and apply maximum pressure on the mullahs to halt their race towards nuclear weapons. Above all, Washington should not expect Israel to accept a normalization agreement with the Saudis as a consolation prize for a bad Iran deal.
Read more on JNS: https://www.jns.org/column/israel/23/8/3/307768/