US, Saudis near security deal, with or without Israel
The historic pact would offer the Saudis security guarantees and could reshape the Middle East
What happened
The U.S. and Saudi Arabia are "nearing a historic pact" that would offer the Saudis advanced weapons and "security guarantees" and create an opening for possible "diplomatic ties with Israel" if its government commits to a path to Palestinian statehood and stops its war in Gaza, Bloomberg said Wednesday. If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government balks, the Saudis want a "more modest plan B, which excludes the Israelis," The Guardian said.
Who said what
The "intense work" the U.S. and Saudis have done on "our own agreements, I think, is very close to completion," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in Riyadh on Monday. A bilateral agreement is "very, very close," Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud agreed.
The commentary
A "less-for-less" U.S.-Saudi deal makes sense so it's not "hostage to the whims of Israeli politics or Benjamin Netanyahu," the Middle East Institute's Firas Maksad said to The Guardian. No deal will clear the Senate if Israel isn't signed on, said Matt Duss at the Center for International Policy.
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What next?
The agreement, nearly sealed before "Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel," could be complete in weeks, Bloomberg said.
