Israel sidelined in US-Saudi security talks – Axios

A potential security agreement between the United States and Saudi Arabia would be separate from a previously planned “mega-deal” with Israel, Axios reported on Tuesday, citing sources.

People familiar with the matter told the outlet that Saudi national security adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban visited the White House last week and met with his US counterpart Jake Sullivan, as well as Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Biden advisers Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein.

The talks focused on the two countries’ bilateral relations, the sources claimed, saying the parties aim to ink a package on security, technology and economic agreements before US President Joe Biden leaves office in January.

The security agreement discussed at the meeting would be separate from Washington’s efforts to advance a so-called “mega-deal” that would include the normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, one of the sources claimed.

Before the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, the Biden administration had been pushing ahead with the mega-deal, which would also have included an agreement on civilian nuclear cooperation. The White House believed that if the nuclear agreement was part of a broader deal, the US Senate might be more likely to ratify it, the Axios report said.

The report said that the push by Biden to sign a security accord with Riyadh was also aimed at strengthening the US position in the Gulf amid growing Chinese and Russian influence in the region.

As part of those efforts, Biden officially designated Qatar as a major non-NATO ally in March 2022, upgrading its relationship with Doha. In September 2023, the US and Bahrain sealed a Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement and in 2024, Biden designated the UAE as a Major Defense Partner.