Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 7 June 2023 (Wikipedia)
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman – the country’s effective leader – denied reports that talks over normalization of ties with Israel had been suspended. In an interview with Fox News “Special Report with Bret Baier” he also warned of the danger posed by a possible nuclear powered Iran, saying if Iran gets nukes Saudi Arabia will need them too.
On the threat of a nuclear Iran, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said Saudi Arabia is, “concerned of any country getting a nuclear weapon,” adding that if Iran becomes a nuclear power then his country will seek to have nuclear weapons also saying, “We will have to get one.”
“That’s a bad move,” he added. “They don’t need to get nuclear weapon because you cannot use it. Even if Iran gets a nuclear weapon, any country uses a nuclear weapon that means they are having a war with the rest of the world.”
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On the possibility of normalization of ties with Israel he said, “every day, we get closer” and that “good negotiations” so far.
Israel is certainly in agreement with Saudi Arabia on the matter of Iran. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made the Iranian threat a central issue in his meeting Wednesday with US President Joe Biden.
“I appreciate, Mr. President, your continuous commitment to prevent Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capability,” Benjamin Netanyahu told President Biden. “I think that’s critical. And that shared goal of ours can be achieved by a credible military threat, crippling sanctions and supporting the brave men and women of Iran who despise that regime and who are our real partners for a better future. So I look forward to working with you and your team to realize the promise and confront the threat.”
On the possibility of a peace deal with Saudi Arabia, Benjamin Netanyahu said that under President Biden’s leadership Israel can “forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.”
He added that such a peace would “go a long way first to advance the end of the Arab-Israeli conflict, achieve reconciliation between the Islamic world and the Jewish state, and advance a genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinians.”
“This is something within our reach,” said Netanyahu. “I believe that working together we can make history and create a better future for the region and beyond.”
But Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also said that he is tying any peace with Israel to a resolution of the Palestinian issue telling Baier, “We hope that will reach a place, that it will ease the life of the Palestinians, get Israel as a player in the Middle East.”
“For us, the Palestinian issue is very important. We need to solve that part,” he added.
