The 'mega deal' (massive agreement) between Saudi Arabia and Israel, led by the United States, has encountered a new obstacle in the form of opposition from the U.S. Congress. The dream of reshaping Middle East diplomacy, which President Joe Biden is pushing forward to showcase as a diplomatic achievement ahead of his re-election bid next year, is also fading into the distance.
According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 4th (local time), a group of Democratic senators recently sent a letter to the White House expressing concerns about the rapidly advancing negotiations to normalize diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. In the letter, the senators stated, "We express serious concerns about the normalization talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which demand significant concessions from the United States," and emphasized, "More evidence is needed to demonstrate that entering into a binding defense treaty with Saudi Arabia aligns with U.S. interests." They also made it clear that "this negotiation could jeopardize the United States' national security priorities."
The letter came shortly after close aides to President Biden visited Saudi Arabia last week to advance the Saudi-Israel normalization talks. On the same day, Axios, a U.S. political news outlet, reported, "Brett McGurk, the White House National Security Council's senior advisor for the Middle East, and Amos Hochstein, senior advisor for energy and infrastructure, visited Saudi Arabia last week to hold talks aimed at the mega deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel." Axios cited sources saying that although momentum seemed to build following last month's meeting between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the talks have stalled due to Saudi Arabia increasing its negotiation demands.
In this situation, even the U.S. Congress has stepped in to impose a brake. Foreign media have assessed that the historic normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, led by the United States, is facing tough political obstacles. A British media outlet noted, "The U.S. Democrats have expressed significant concerns over a plan under consideration to support Saudi Arabia in operating a civilian nuclear program run by the United States as a condition for normalization between the two countries," adding, "Since congressional approval is required for this plan, the likelihood of it materializing is low." Saudi Arabia has continued to demand security guarantees, nuclear development support, and arms sales as the price for normalizing relations with Israel, demands that directly conflict with the existing foreign policies of the Democrats and President Biden.
The Biden administration is focusing on the normalization of Saudi-Israel relations as a potential diplomatic achievement to highlight ahead of next year's presidential election. If official diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel are restored, the 'India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC)' promoted by the Biden administration is expected to gain momentum, which would also be a positive factor in the election campaign. IMEC, a core pillar of Biden's Middle East diplomatic restructuring, is a trade route construction plan connecting India, the Middle East, and Europe, led by the United States and others. For this, normalization between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the key link, is essential.
Saudi Arabia was a traditional ally of the United States, but relations cooled after it became known that the Saudi Crown Prince was involved in the assassination of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Subsequently, the Democrats and President Biden, emphasizing human rights-centered diplomacy, declared their intention to make Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman an 'international outcast,' further worsening bilateral relations. However, as President Biden reached out to Saudi Arabia first for his re-election, the two countries have had an opportunity to normalize relations. The Hill pointed out, "Even if the Biden administration mediates the normalization of relations between the long-time adversaries Saudi Arabia and Israel, it will inevitably face the hurdle of congressional approval."
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