Blinken: Security Agreement with Saudi Arabia Could Be Finalized in 'A Few Weeks'

Following the meeting between the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia and the National Security Advisor of the White House in Dhahran, the U.S. Secretary of State announced a series of agreements with Saudi Arabia regarding nuclear energy. According to Antony Blinken, the two countries are also close to cooperation in 'security and defense,' which is part of a broader agreement for normalizing relations between Riyadh and Israel. He emphasized during a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday, June 2, that finalizing the agreements may take only 'a few weeks.' The U.S. Secretary of State also warned that Saudi Arabia has explicitly stated that for continued 'broader normalization,' 'there must be calm in Gaza and a pathway for the establishment of a Palestinian state.' Sources earlier this month informed Reuters that a working draft by the United States aimed at restoring Washington-led efforts to reshape this unstable region, which was derailed by Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7 and the subsequent Israeli assault on Gaza, has been prepared. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also met with Jake Sullivan, the White House National Security Advisor, on May 29 in Dhahran to discuss a 'semi-final draft' of a strategic agreement between Washington and Riyadh. However, due to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rejection of the Palestinian statehood proposal, the formation of a broader plan for the region remains unresolved. According to Mr. Blinken, while Washington is working to restore calm in Gaza through hostage deals and ceasefire plans, the time for Israel to make a decision is approaching. Assistants to President Joe Biden believed before Hamas's attack on Israel that in trilateral negotiations, the Saudis would secure a U.S. security commitment in exchange for normalizing relations with Israel. Currently, Washington is negotiating with Riyadh on a 'separate' path to finalize a proposal for a 'big deal,' and Netanyahu must decide whether to join this agreement. U.S. officials hope that Mr. Netanyahu will not miss this historic opportunity for normalizing relations with Saudi Arabia. However, U.S. officials are aware that the Israeli Prime Minister is under domestic political pressures, including maintaining the most right-wing government in the country to avoid collapse. Bloomberg reported on May 2 that the pace of negotiations between the United States and Saudi Arabia has increased recently, and the two countries are close to reaching a 'security agreement.' Bloomberg wrote that this agreement will provide significant security guarantees to Saudi Arabia and also offers a framework for the potential normalization of future relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. According to Bloomberg, this agreement is a new version of a framework that was designed to isolate the Islamic Republic before the extremist Hamas group's attack on Israel and was supposed to include the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia as part of it. The extremist group Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and the European Union.