Saudi Crown Prince Meets with Israeli National Security Advisor

Gadi Eisenkot, Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, has confirmed that Meir Ben Shabbat, the National Security Advisor of Israel, met with Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. General Eisenkot denied having met with the Saudi Crown Prince in an interview with the newspapers 'Maariv' and 'Jerusalem Post' published on April 9, but stated that the Israeli National Security Advisor did meet with Mohammed bin Salman. This senior Israeli military commander did not provide details about the meeting, including the time, place, and topics discussed, but emphasized the 'alignment' of interests between Israel and Saudi Arabia regarding Iran. However, he expressed that Israel is not reassured by Saudi Arabia's intentions regarding acquiring a nuclear program and that Tel Aviv is not fully aware of this Saudi intention. Saudi officials have remained silent about the meeting between the Crown Prince and the Israeli National Security Advisor. Nevertheless, Israeli media reported that Mohammed bin Salman held meetings with leaders of several important Jewish organizations, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), during his recent trip to the United States. For the past seventy years, Saudi Arabia has not recognized the existence of Israel, but Saudi officials have emphasized that Israel could achieve full peace with Arab and Islamic countries if it implements the Arab peace plan proposed by the former Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. On the other hand, in a historic move, Saudi Arabia has allowed an Indian airline to use its airspace for flights between India and Israel about two weeks ago. Gadi Eisenkot also emphasized in his recent interview that his country only exchanges intelligence and security information with two Arab countries, Egypt and Jordan, which have signed peace treaties; he also stated that the 'alignment' of Israeli and Saudi interests regarding Iran is not a 'Sunni-Israeli alliance' but rather 'common interests for regional stability.' According to him, 'realities have changed, and the perception that cooperation cannot happen because of the Palestinian issue has diminished; shared threats have created a need for cooperation.' General Eisenkot also responded to a question regarding the presence of Iranian forces in Syria, stating that 'in fact, their presence has decreased in recent years; previously, there were three thousand Iranian forces in Syria, but to reduce casualties, they have adopted another strategy and gradually formed a 10,000-strong Shia force from Iraqi, Pakistani, and Afghan Shia in Syria.' According to this Israeli military official, these Iran-aligned militants 'never imagined they would receive several hundred dollars a month in their own country.' He also mentioned that 'one-third of Hezbollah militants are regularly present on the battlefields in Syria, and together with Iranian forces, the total number of forces under Iranian command in Syria reaches 20,000.' However, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army emphasized that with the defeat of ISIS in large areas of Syria, Iran hoped to stabilize its military presence in Syria and gain access to naval and ground bases near Israel, but according to him, 'Israel is confronting this issue and has taken actions in the past year that prevent them from daring to approach our border because they know they will pay a heavy price.' The Israeli army announced on February 10 that it shot down an 'Iranian drone' in the Golan Heights, and subsequently, Israeli fighter jets bombed 'positions belonging to Iranian forces in Syrian territory.' Iran, however, denied this news, calling it 'ridiculous.' Nevertheless, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army stated in his interview that aside from those attacks, which were in response to the 'Iranian drone incursion into Israeli airspace,' 'we have also conducted numerous other effective attacks on their targets and bases.' Iran has not yet reacted to the statements made by the Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army.