Israel and Saudi Arabia are holding talks to increase their military and intelligence cooperation over concerns about Iranian aggression in the region, according to a Bloomberg report, which notes that the United States is backing the efforts.
Executions carried out in Saudi Arabia have nearly doubled since 2015, when King Salman and his son Mohammed bin Salman took charge, according to human rights investigators.
A Democratic member of Congress said Monday that they and others in the party would likely object to the US selling advanced weaponry to Saudi Arabia, even in exchange for Riyadh normalizing relations with Israel, but acknowledged that such opposition would presumably not be enough to block an agreement.
Prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu says he intends to pursue peace with Saudi Arabia and posits that it could be the key to resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Likud MK Danny Danon told an international Abraham Accords forum on Thursday that he expects to “see an agreement between Israel and Saudi Arabia in the coming year.”
The United States is reinforcing defense infrastructure in the Middle East, at a time of tension with Iran, a US official said Sunday, adding that Tehran had likely abandoned a plan to attack Saudi Arabia due to security cooperation.
The lasting breakthrough from the Abraham Accords could eventually be peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia, according to Ron Dermer, who served as Israel’s ambassador to the U.S. from 2013 to 2021.
A Saudi prince related to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s seemingly took aim at President Biden and the U.S., warning leaders not to threaten Saudi Arabia.
OPEC+ has announced a significant cut in global oil supplies ahead of European Union embargoes on Russia energy and in time for the peak winter season, Reuters reports. Exacerbating concerns about soaring inflation, the move is expected to push up the price of gasoline again.
A coalition of 130 lawmakers sent a letter to a top federal watchdog raising the alarm about a spike in foreign ownership of U.S. farmland.
Controversial world leaders were among those invited to participate in Monday’s state funeral for Queen Elizabeth II despite concerns about their human rights record.
The U.S. government this week signed off on the sale of 300 Patriot missiles and related support equipment to Saudi Arabia in a deal valued at more than $3 billion, defense officials said Tuesday.
In the East, however, security and economy-focused blocs led by Beijing and Moscow are looking to take on new members of their own, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, two influential Middle Eastern rivals whose interest in shoring up cooperation on this new front could have a significant impact on global geopolitical balance.
Iran is technically capable of making a nuclear bomb but has not decided whether to build one, a senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei told Qatar’s al Jazeera TV on Sunday.
The United States and Saudi Arabia agreed on the importance of stopping Iran from “acquiring a nuclear weapon,” during a visit by US President Joe Biden, a joint statement carried by the Saudi state news agency (SPA) said.
Saudi Arabia will not fully normalize relations with Israel until a two-state solution with the Palestinian population is reached, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said in an interview with CNN news on Saturday.
U.S. President Joe Biden said Friday that Saudi Arabia had agreed to open its airspace to aircraft flying to and from Israel, but there were no signs yet that the Islamic kingdom would recognize the Jewish state.
US President Joe Biden, during his visit to Jeddah this weekend, will announce the successful brokering of an agreement between Saudi Arabia and Egypt that will see Riyadh take steps toward normalization with Israel, a Middle East diplomat confirmed to The Times of Israel Thursday.
Progressives are looking to constrain the Biden administration’s ability to send weapons and enter security agreements with Saudi Arabia as President Biden gears up for a controversial visit to strengthen ties with the country.
As President Biden prepares to visit Israel and Saudi Arabia next week, experts and former officials are warning that an often-overlooked issue risks undermining efforts to increase cooperation among U.S. allies in the Middle East.
