Due to President Donald Trump`s innovative approach, his peace process in the Middle East has been successful. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain joined the Abraham Accords and other countries like Sudan are also set to join this process. Although still an especially important and powerful Arab country, Saudi Arabia has not yet formally joined the process, but there are many signs that show this country is going to take steps in this direction and Biden should take note.
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Among these steps is Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reported visit to Saudi Arabia and the kingdom's agreement to let Israel use Saudi airspace on visits to the UAE. Although the meeting failed to reach a normalization agreement at this time, it was still a successful meeting nevertheless, which was greatly beneficial to the State of Israel.
Mendi Safadi, who heads the Safadi Center for International Diplomacy, Research, Public Relations and Human Rights, recently welcomed the secret visit by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Saudi Arabia: "The meeting is of paramount importance for peace in the region but it also sends a clear message to the Iranian regime that the forces seeking peace and regional stability are preparing for any scenario to repel a potential Iranian attack." It should be noted that soon after the meeting, an Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated.
According to Safadi, "The timing of the meeting is a clear message to US President-elect Joe Biden that the Middle East seeks peace and any deal with Iran that benefits the regime is unacceptable to most Middle Eastern countries. It highlights to Biden the desired US policy towards the Middle East in the region and shows him that any move that harms the peace process taking shape between Israel and the Persian Gulf countries could have severe repercussions."
Interestingly, in a recent article in Al Arabiya, The Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) reported that senior Saudi journalist Abd Al-Rahman Al-Rashed claimed that Biden got the message and is unlikely to rejoin any nuclear deal with Iran unless it puts an end to Iran's ballistic missile program and stops Iranian terror proxies across the Middle East. This should be considered a great accomplishment for Netanyahu, as such an Iranian nuclear deal is significantly better than what Obama negotiated.
Nevertheless, Sirwan Mansouri, a Kurdish journalist from the Middle East, noted that Biden "will probably give more space for the Islamic republic" than many in the region would like.
For this reason, closer Saudi Israeli cooperation against the ayatollah regime at this time is considered pivotal. According to Mansouri, obtaining a united front between Israel and the Sunni Muslim states against any proposed sanctions relief will help Israel vis-a-vis President Biden, and this will give Israel more power than it would have had otherwise. After all, there is strength in numbers, and a number of states opposing Iran sanctions relief is not like only one vocally standing in opposition to it.
The future of Israeli-Arab ties seems to be very hopeful, as Netanyahu's secret visit to Saudi Arabia highlights. Not only do many Arab countries seek warm political and economic relations with Israel, but they also are likely to eventually sign security agreements to reduce the Iranian regime's influence in the region. This will ultimately lead to a weakening of the Iranian regime and help to strengthen Israel.
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