The United States and Saudi Arabia are nearing a deal on a new defense pact that would deepen their military ties and require the US to defend the kingdom in the event of an attack.
According to a news report by Reuters on September 29, the deal is reportedly tied to a Saudi-Israeli normalization agreement, which the US has been pushing for years.
According to three regional sources familiar with the talks, Saudi Arabia is determined to secure the defense pact regardless of whether Israel offers major concessions to the Palestinians. This marks a significant shift from the kingdom’s traditional position of linking normalization to Palestinian statehood.
“The Saudis are no longer willing to wait for the Palestinians,” said one of the sources. “They are facing a growing threat from Iran and its proxies, and they need the US’s security umbrella.”
The US is putting Saudi Arabia’s interests ahead of the Palestinian people’s rights,” said Omar Barghouti, co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement. “This deal is a betrayal of the Palestinian cause.”
Analysts say that the US-Saudi defense pact is a sign of the changing geopolitical landscape in the Middle East. With Iran becoming increasingly assertive, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries are looking to the US for security guarantees.
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