The first time Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto leader acknowledged that the kingdom was moving towards normalization with Israel, was on September 20, 2023. “Every day we get closer,” Mohammad Bin Salman said during an interview with Fox News. He added that such a pact would be “the biggest historical deal since the Cold War”.

While Palestinians have vehemently condemned previous Arab-Israeli normalization agreements, labeling them as treacherous stabs in the back and betrayals to the Palestinian cause, Bin Salman argued that his deal with the Israelis would “ease the life of the Palestinians”.

Since the 1980s, Saudi Arabia has been a vociferous advocate of the two-state solution. The Fahd Peace Plan in 1981 and the Arab Peace Initiative proposed by Riyadh in 2002, which also garnered endorsement in 2007 and 2017, both proposed that Israel become a state recognized by the Arab League, contingent upon Israel withdrawing its forces from the territories it occupied following the Six-Day War in 1967. Additionally, the peace initiatives stipulated that Israel permit the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

“Despite the widespread embrace of the Saudi peace plan by the majority of Arab states, Israel’s reaction to both Saudi initiatives was unfavorable. Israel insisted on maintaining Jerusalem as a unified capital and also rejected the right of return for Palestinian refugees, impacting hundreds of thousands of individuals,” said Fuad al-Ibrahim, a seasoned expert on Saudi Arabia.

The expert further noted that with the passage of time and Israel’s firm rejection of the two-state solution, Saudi Arabia appears to have become less enthusiastic about championing the Palestinian cause. Instead, it seems to be prioritizing the advancement of its ties with Israel, potentially seeking stronger rapport with Washington.

“It seems that solidifying ties with Israel has become a prerequisite for maintaining a strong relationship between Saudi Arabia and the U.S. government. MBS appears to be actively fostering this relationship with Israel to secure his political career,” the expert remarked.

Reports indicate that as part of any potential normalization agreement with Israel, Saudi Arabia has pursued added concessions from Washington, such as a security pact, the sale of advanced weaponry, and assistance in developing a civilian nuclear program. Allegedly, Riyadh has also requested that Israel uphold the possibility of a two-state solution, although given recent events and the situation in Gaza, it seems impossible to envision Israel endorsing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Following Israel’s aggressive actions against Palestinians in Gaza, Riyadh declared that the potential deal is on hold. Nonetheless, Israeli reports contend that Bin Salman has agreed to “build on” the US-mediated discussions aimed at normalizing relations with Israel once the conflict in Gaza is over. However, in light of shifting public opinion against the regime, it may prove challenging for the custodian of Islam’s holiest sites to resume talks with Israeli officials.
“From my perspective, Operation Al-Aqsa Storm and Israel’s subsequent response to the offensive create obstacles for MBS and others to move forward with normalization with Israel, potentially endangering their credibility and political careers. Nevertheless, this may be a transient situation, contingent upon the political dynamics within Israel and the military landscape in Gaza and the broader region,” emphasized al-Ibrahim.

Waters murkier between Riyadh and Washington after Hamas operation

Israel’s disproportionate response to the October 7 Hamas attack might have also served as a wake-up call for Saudi’s ruling family.

That’s because Riyadh, like everyone else, noticed that Washington’s reaction to the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi and its reaction to the slaughter of thousands of civilians in Gaza were undeniably disparate. After Western media outlets turned the screw on the Saudi prince for his involvement in the murder of a royal insider-turned-critic, who was killed at the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate in 2018, Washington decided that backing its traditional West Asian ally in the particular case would be too costly. U.S. President Joe Biden promised to turn the kingdom into a pariah during his presidential campaign and proceeded to release a declassified U.S. intelligence assessment, confirming the crown prince’s complicity in the killing.

Though Bin Salman was able to avoid reckoning, his reputation was severely damaged as someone who liked to tout himself as a bold reformer pursuing new freedoms in the Saudi kingdom.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has shown unequivocal support for Israel’s killing campaign in Gaza, and refrained from bloviating its usual slogans of human rights to let Israel finish its stated mission of “eradicating Hamas”. Washington seems willing to help the Israeli regime omit its opponents, not caring that it has to stand against the entire world to make it happen.

The Khashoggi case was not an outlier. The U.S. pulled the plug on Riyadh when Yemen’s Ansarullah movement decided to attack Saudi Arabia’s main oil processing facilities in 2019, making no concrete efforts whatsoever to help its ally prop up its security apparatus. That’s while the Democrats and Republicans are working in tandem to secure a $14.5 billion military aid package for Israel, amid a budget deficit crisis in home.

Gaza war brings Saudis closer to China

Saudi Arabia had already begun to buttress its relations with China after getting the stiff-arm from the U.S. during the two instances. But the kingdom seems to have shifted even more towards Beijing’s orbit with the occurrence of the latest war in West Asia.

A delegation of Arab and Muslim ministers, including Saudi Arabia’s Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, travelled to Beijing in November to push for an end to the war in Gaza with China’s aid.

The move largely sidelined the U.S., which has been the target of scathing criticism from its Arab allies since the beginning of the latest wave of Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Operation Al-Aqsa Storm seems to have defied previous predictions on many levels. Saudi Arabia may have to recalibrate its foreign policies, considering the amount of hate it may receive from Muslim masses across the world once it decides to move forward with normalization talks with Israel. It might also be less willing than before to count on the U.S. as a reliable partner, given Washington’s penchant for leaving Saudi Arabia alone, when a crisis strikes.

By: Mona Hojatansari

The post Could Al-Aqsa Storm bring a change to Saudi foreign policy? appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Speaking to Tasnim News Agency, Mohammad Reza Sabzalipour said that severance of political ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia in 2016 minimized and even zeroed economic ties with Saudi Arabia and with some of its Arab allies and it made some economic activists mainly in Arab states stop reluctantly trade with Iranians.

He noted that in the past seven years there were great trade and economic opportunities which could happen between Iran and its neighboring Arab states but because of the lack of political and diplomatic ties they were mostly missed.

Sabzalipour then pointed to recent talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia which led to the resumption of ties, adding that efforts of the economic sectors of the two countries have also started to boost economic exchanges.

He added that in recent weeks the center had talks with some neighboring Arab states especially with Saudi Arabia which were positive. He reiterated that resumption of political ties with Saudi Arabia has opened the way for resumption of economic ties and currently Saudi and Kuwaiti businessmen have announced their readiness for investment in Iran.

Sabzalipour further said that economic activists of Saudi  Arabia and Kuwait currently have announced their readiness for investment in field of construction, tourism, building hotel and hoteliering, medical, building hospitals as well as insurance and banking and probably in the future new investors will enter more scenes and more diverse fields.

He admitted that the main concern of the foreign investors is the stability in the forex price for their long term planning and activities.

Sabzalipour further said that détente with the countries has great and important impact on the economic growth and broadening economic activities in the country as well as in resolving economic problems of the country.

He added that soon economic delegations will be exchanged between Iran and Saudi Arabia and with other countries in different fields and it is necessary for the ministries and related economic bodies and diplomacy apparatus to take advantage of this opportunity for attracting foreign investment through removing hurdles.

The post Kuwaiti, Saudi Economic Activists Voice Readiness for Investment in Iran appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The Saudi minister was blackmailing the U.S. with a direct threat — If you add to supplies now from your strategic reserves and later you are short and need more oil, then good luck because we won’t do a damn thing. You can freeze! It’s your problem.

It’s high time for the United States to get tough with Saudi Arabia and stop pussyfooting around with the Al-Sauds.

The U.S. should immediately convey the following message in private to Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and his brother, Abdulaziz:

“President Biden was shocked by the oil minister’s threats delivered in Riyadh on October 25th.

The United States is not the market manipulator, in fact OPEC and its leader, Saudi Arabia, are the market manipulators par excellence.”

The message should continue: “We have put you in this leadership position in OPEC, which has enabled you to manipulate oil supplies and markets. We have isolated Iran to support you and the rest of the Gulf Cooperation countries’ (GCC) national interests. Our major instrument has been economic sanctions on Iran. We have banned investment in Iran’s energy sector and sanctioned the sale of Iran’s oil and gas. If we had not done this, Iran could possibly be exporting an additional 4 million barrels a day right now. And even if we lifted sanctions today Iran could immediately export an additional 1–1.5 MBD. We would have the oil we want with lower prices and Europe would by now be getting all the natural gas it desperately needs. We have been cautious and not done these to safeguard your security and protect your position in the region. We have also sold you our top-of-the-line weaponry, maintained them, trained your personnel and supplied you with intelligence. We took on all these policies to support your national interests and this is how you repay us, cutting oil production and supporting Russia’s war of aggression?

Enough is enough. President Biden does not care if he is a one-term president but he will defend U.S. interests. So back down immediately or these are the options we are considering:

First, a total freeze on the sale of all weapons and spare parts to you. Withdrawal of Patriot batteries and their transfer to Ukraine. Withdrawal of all military advisors and contractors. No direct intelligence sharing and discouraging Israeli cooperation in all military matters with the GCC.

Second, we are at a pivotal point in our dealings with Iran. Here are our options and what we ultimately decide in part depends on your cooperation.

-We can lift all sanctions on Iran’s oil and gas exports. Or we can do this with the constraint that all proceeds go into a special United Nation’s account restricted for the purchase of food and medicines for the Iranian people, much as was done years ago in the case of Iraq. We could similarly remove sanctions on Venezuela.

-We can rejoin the Iran nuclear agreement (JCPOA) and remove the sanctions mentioned. In this case we could also enable much wider sanction relief, including investment in Iran’s energy sector.

We will determine which option best serves our national interests. Our decision will be in part determined by what you decide. So please tell us what you plan within the next two weeks.”

A warning to the White House. MBS has heard much advice on how best to deal with Biden and the United States. He believes it is money that talks in the U.S. through lobbying. So he has tried to build a lobbying firewall by expanding his secret cooperation with Israel, hiring dozens of retired American military men, including generals and admirals, enlisting well-placed Americans and corporations and even gifting nearly $1 billion to a number of U.S. universities for their support. If MBS does not back down, this firewall must be dealt with.

The post Saudi energy minister’s threat and blackmail must be SLAMMED appeared first on Iran News Daily.

So far, Iran and Saudi Arabia have held four rounds of talks to settle their disputes. Iraq has been hosting the talks.

Khatibzadeh said contacts between the two countries have never been cut off.

“The talks have been held in Baghdad, that is, we have sat down and talked for four rounds; but regarding the question that ‘are there constant messages and contacts between us and the Saudi government? Yes! This has happened,” Khatibzadeh told the Mehr news agency.

On a possible reopening of the embassies of the two countries, the spokesman said: “We are still some distance away from reopening of the embassies in Tehran and Riyadh.”

“But if we can start this process, I must say that it can start soon,” the diplomat stated.

Talking on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rome on Saturday, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud said: “Talks with Iran are friendly but there is no much progress.”

The post Iran, S. Arabia have made initial agreement on certain issues: spokesman appeared first on Iran News Daily.

A couple of days ago first Saudi Arabia ordered the Lebanese ambassador to the country to leave over the “offensive” remarks made by Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi regarding the Saudi-led coalition against Yemen.

Kordahi said in an interview with an online show affiliated with Qatar’s Al Jazeera network that the Yemen war was “futile” and said it was time to end the war. He also defended Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah movement, saying the Houthis were “defending themselves… against an external aggression,” adding that “homes, villages, funerals and weddings were being bombed” by the coalition.

The interview was recorded on August 5 before Kordahi was appointed as minister, but it was aired on Monday and Saudis took advantage of it.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday that it had given Lebanon’s ambassador 48 hours to leave Riyadh and had recalled its ambassador to Lebanon for consultations as well. Now it is said that other Arab states like Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE have joined Saudi Arabia and have expelled or called for departure of Lebanon’s ambassadors. They also summoned their ambassadors to Lebanon to show consolidation with Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia and some of its regional allies, backed by the U.S. and other Western powers, have been waging a devastating war on Yemen since March 2015 to reinstall Yemen’s former president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, a staunch ally of Riyadh, and eliminate the popular Ansarullah movement. The kingdom has also imposed a ban on all imports from Lebanon, the ministry said.

With such a move, Saudi Arabia actually has targeted both Lebanon and Yemen to put pressure on Hizbullah and Ansarullah groups. Saudis seem to be playing on the West’s court to increase pressure on Lebanon government which is struggling with the current economic and social crisis in the country.

Iran’s dispatching of tankers of fuel to Lebanon seems to have enraged the West, and as usual Saudi Arabia as the lackey of the West in the region has been used as a pawn against Lebanon and for creating rift among Muslims and Kordahi’s remarks is nothing but a pretext to fan the flame of tension between Shiites and Sunnis.

The Arab League said it is concerned about a rapid deterioration of Lebanese-Persian Gulf relations after critical comments made by Lebanese Information Minister Kordahi regarding the Saudi-led war against Yemen.

In a statement on Saturday quoting Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, it appealed to Persian Gulf countries “to reflect on the measures proposed to be taken … in order to avoid further negative effects on the collapsing Lebanese economy”.

“Aboul Gheit expressed his deep concern and regret over the rapid deterioration in Lebanese-(Persian) Gulf relations …,” the league statement said, adding that it was confident Lebanese President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister Najib Mikati would act quickly to ease the crisis.

The comments came hours after Saudi Arabia banned all imports from Lebanon and gave the Lebanese ambassador 48 hours to leave the country. Saudi Arabia also banned its citizens from travelling to Lebanon.

What Kordahi said on August 5 is nothing new for taking such a reaction because other officials in other Arab states have made such remarks in the past but Saudis have not shown such a strong reaction. While Israel is trying to have warmer ties with the Persian Gulf states, such a reaction by those states against Lebanon and actually against Hizbollah group which is a serious threat to Israelis seems logical and predictable.

Of course whenever Iran in recent years has tried to start talks and resolves its nuclear issue, some incidents have happened in the region to overshadow and maybe this is a plot to overshadow the JCPOA talks, and to create a condition for increasing pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran by increasing pressure on its allies in the region.

Saudi Arabia is feeling the imminent defeat in Yemen war and it is trying to find ways to step out of this quagmire as a victor, and recent naïve action to expel Lebanese minister is just for diverting the attention of the world public to other issues than their defeat in Yemen.

But Arab states are better to stop playing with the card of Saudi Arabia because there is no chance for them to win and any rift in Muslim nations will please the West and will pave the way for West’s increasing  dominance in the region.

Lebanon and Hizbollah group will not bow to such pressures and they are also able to handle this issue and another negative point will be registered in the book of records of Riyadh and its lackeys.

The post Lebanon, the New Scapegoat for Saudis’ Failure appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei on Sunday called for unity among Muslims saying it is a matter of principle and a clear religious duty, commanded by the Holy Quran. But everybody knows this fact that unity among the Muslim countries is not what the Zionist regime and its Western supporters want because a united Muslim world will be tough to be beaten and it can dominate the world in any fields.

So one can see this concern and embarrassment in the face and behaviors of the Zionists and their officials once in a while try to threaten Iran or other countries which are against the unity through resorting to any vicious plot.

Recently an Israeli newspaper apparently in an article revealed the concern in the Zionists’ camp over thawing of the relations between Tehran and Riyadh. Israeli newspaper Haaretz in its article wrote, “

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian returned from his visit to Syria, Egypt and Russia with good news: Talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran had gone “a good distance,” he said. Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh was more generous with details, saying the talks had proceeded “without interruption” and had focused on ties between Iran and countries in the region, mainly the Persian Gulf States. The war in Yemen was also discussed.”

“Riyadh and Tehran have already signed a number of agreements, Khatibzadeh said. According to diplomatic sources who spoke with Arab journalists, consulates are expected to open in the two countries soon. A full normalization agreement is expected within weeks, with embassy openings to follow,” the daily added..

“If the negotiations between the House of Saud and the Islamic Republic of Iran do result in an agreement and normalization, this will be the final chapter of the anti-Iranian coalition. Israel relied heavily on this coalition, of which it considered itself an unofficial member, to the point where the common denominator between Israel and Saudi Arabia led to hope of a renewal of Saudi ties with Israel,” the daily reiterated.

Saudi-Iran ties might remove the obstacles to a direct channel between all Arab states and Iran. Evidence of this can already be seen in statements by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, who in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart last week said: “Good relations with Iran are an important interest of Jordan’s,” Haaretz added.

The Israeli newspaper added, “The renewal of close ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia is ostensibly a major blow to Israel. Not only is there a fundamental disagreement between Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Biden regarding Iran’s nuclear program and the deal Washington seeks, but the bubble of the Arab anti-Iranian coalition – one that former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu inflated with hot air – is about to burst. Saudi planes would not have joined a coordinated assault on Iran with Israel without U.S. approval, and even during the Trump administration the U.S. made clear that it was headed for diplomacy, not war.”

This Zionist paper went on to say, “The UAE signed cooperation agreements with Iran two years ago, which did not prevent it from signing a peace agreement with Israel. Qatar is a veteran business partner of Iran. Other members of the coalition, such as Egypt and Jordan, are mainly onlookers. The Arab states, especially Saudi Arabia, that sought to heighten their status in Washington by marketing their common struggle with Iran, could in Trump’s day rely on Israel’s lobbying, albeit not very successful. Now they realize the battle against Iran is no longer a valuable commodity and Israel is a go-between that charges commission but doesn’t deliver the goods.”

So with this confession one can realize that the Zionists and the West are the main losers of unity among Muslim states and governments in those countries should settle their differences and make friend and to become a united fist to punch on the face of any ill-wisher.

Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei in his Sunday speeches slammed the move by certain regional governments to normalize ties with the Israeli regime as “a great sin and mistake”. “These governments should reverse the move, which goes against Islamic unity and should make up for their great mistake,” Ayatollah Khamenei noted.

The Islamic Republic of Iran and the Supreme Leader has always called for unity among Muslims because it is well ware that the Zionist can catch the fish from the muddy water and they are after creating rift among Muslims.

So it is wise Saudi Arabians to restore ties with Iran and to continue friendship because this move can strengthen them and Muslim world and will reinforce the Muslims’ position in the world. It seems Saudi officials are gradually realizing that it is useless to rely on the other countries than the regional states and work with them for prosperity and a better future for the world of Islam which is in dire need of unity while the Zionists are working hard to hinder it through some of their lackeys in some states.

Muslims will unite soon it may take time but it will happen despite the plots of the Zionists.

The post Zionists Wary of Tehran-Riyadh Ties appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“Exports to Saudi Arabia coincided with the beginning of the two countries’ talks, which is good news,” IRIB quoted Latifi as saying.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have endured rocky relations over the past few years.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister on Friday said the government is serious about talks with Iran as part of their agenda to stabilize the region.

The value of Iran’s non-oil trade with its 15 neighbors reached $22.588 billion in the first six months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-September 22) to register a 52 percent rise year on year, according to Latifi.

The Islamic Republic traded over 47.222 million tons of commodities with the neighboring countries in the mentioned year.

The volume of the traded goods in the mentioned period also increased by 37 percent compared to the figure for the previous year’s same six months.

Iran traded a total of 79.104 million tons of non-oil products worth $44.926 billion with its trade partners in the mentioned six months, he stated.

Trade with neighboring countries in the first half of the year accounted for 60 percent and 50 percent of the country’s total non-oil trade during the said period, in terms of weight and value, respectively.

The country exported over 36.087 million tons of non-oil goods worth more than $11.218 billion to the neighboring countries in the period under review, while importing more than 19.138 million tons of goods worth over $11.369 billion.

Increasing non-oil exports to the neighboring countries is one of the major plans that the Iranian government has been pursuing in recent years.

Iran shares land or water borders with 15 countries namely UAE, Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Saudi Arabia.

The post Iran, Saudi Arabia resume economic exchanges appeared first on Iran News Daily.

A Saudi official added that Riyadh was considering reopening Iran’s consulate in the port city of Jeddah but said the talks had not made sufficient progress in restoring full diplomatic relations, something Iran has been pushing for with some Persian Gulf neighbors.

Since April, the kingdom has held four rounds of talks with Iran, including a first meeting last month with the new government of president Ebrahim Raisi. Analysts say the negotiations are a sign of step-by-step attempts to de-escalate tensions in West Asia in the wake of the election of U.S. President Joe Biden and with the economic hardship in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking to the Financial Times, in a rare interview with a foreign media outlet, Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud, the Saudi foreign minister, told the newspaper that the talks with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been “cordial” while describing the negotiations as “exploratory.” He claims, “we are serious about the talks. For us, it’s not that big a shift. We’ve always said we want to find a way to stabilize the region.”

In January 2016, Riyadh and Tehran cut diplomatic ties after Saudi Arabia’s embassy in the republic was subject to protests. The demonstrations came after Saudi Arabia beheaded senior Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr for voicing his opposition to Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on the Shia minority population living in the Kingdom oil-rich Eastern province. Despite the region’s wealth, Human Rights Groups have decried the social injustice saying the Shia in Saudi Arabia have been discriminated against, not provided the same opportunities as the Sunni population while at the same time prevented from any positions of authority.

Riyadh says it believes the negotiations with Tehran have not yet made significant progress to a level where the restoration of full diplomatic relations. But a Saudi official told the Financial Times that Saudi Arabia is working on opening an Iranian consulate in the Saudi port city of Jeddah. Riyadh says it is also considering Iran to reopen its representative office for the Organization of Islamic Co-operation in the same town. However, the kingdom says it was not yet ready to reopen a consulate in the Iranian holy city of Mashhad, with a senior official saying the dialogue so far lacked “substance.”

Iranian authorities have not commented on the claims made by the Saudis officials.

The discussions took place amid European diplomatic efforts to broker a deal on Washington’s return to the nuclear deal Tehran signed with world powers in 2015.

The Saudi official claims that Tehran is “focused on signaling, especially to the west, [they are signaling] that ‘look, we have resolved our issues with the Saudis and any lingering things we can work out together so don’t talk to us about regional security,” he said. “‘Treat us like a normal country and let’s do this [nuclear] deal.’”

Iran has repeatedly reiterated its stance on the Nuclear Deal, insisting that the United States (which unilaterally withdrew from the deal in May 2018) must remove all the sanctions it reimposed in a verifiable manner before rejoining the Iran Nuclear Deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Tehran says any other issues such as its missile defense program or support for allies is a red line.

The Iranian government says it is open to resuming the stalled talks in Vienna and is reviewing the details of the negotiations by the previous government and other signatories.

No direct talks between Iran and the United States have taken place in Vienna, with Tehran refusing to speak directly to the administration of President Joe Biden until Washington returns to the agreement first by lifting its unilateral sanctions, which Iranian officials have described as economic terrorism.

This year President Raisi took over from former president Hassan Rouhani, who inked the nuclear deal. The Saudi official alleges Riyadh always “had the philosophy we want to speak to the real decision-makers.”

Tensions escalated between Saudi Arabia and Iran after Riyadh backed former U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw the U.S. from the nuclear deal with Tehran and impose crippling sanctions on the republic. The following year Yemeni forces conducted a sophisticated missile and drone attack on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure that temporarily knocked out half the kingdom’s crude output. Riyadh blamed Yemen’s retaliatory attack on Iran, despite Yemen growing its capabilities over the years in retaliating against the daily Saudi bombardment of its residential neighborhoods.

But Saudi Arabia appears to have reconsidered its more assertive foreign policy after U.S. President Joe
Biden took office and pledged to reassess ties with the kingdom, criticizing the murder of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents and allegedly halting some “offensive” arms sales to Riyadh.

Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s leadership, Riyadh had aggressively pursued its war with Yemen’s popular Ansarullah movement and allied Yemeni army, became embroiled in a bitter diplomatic row with Canada and briefly detaining Lebanese Prime Minister Sa’ad al-Hariri, forcing him to publicly resign on Saudi state media. Despite this, Prince Faisal claims that Riyadh “did not pick fights.”

He says, “the leadership has a clear policy that the priority is prosperity, building the country, Vision 2030 [reform plan], and you can’t deliver those things with a region in turmoil. So while we will vigorously defend our national security and our sovereignty, we will try to resolve them through diplomacy as well.”

He added that there was a “confluence of events that made it feel like it was the right moment” to talk to Iran. “We were always willing to talk if they might actually be serious,” he claims. “Various factors
came into play.”

Saudi diplomats say Riyadh wants Tehran to use its influence over Ansarullah in Yemen to help end the war there, with the kingdom keen to exit the conflict after waging war in 2015 to back the former Yemeni government.

However, experts say the quagmire Saudi Arabia finds itself in Yemen has nothing to do with Iran. Saudi Arabia began the war, and while Iran supports the Yemeni government, it cannot change the determination of the Yemeni people to liberate their land and restore their sovereignty from Saudi control. Iran has called for talks between Riyadh and Sana’a to halt the Saudi war and end the “world’s worst humanitarian crisis” in Yemen.

Last month, the Associated Press reported satellite imagery showing that the U.S. had pulled its Patriot air defense system out of Saudi Arabia.
But Prince Faisal put a positive spin on the issue, saying Washington had assured the kingdom that its “commitment to our security and the security of our border is ironclad, and we take them at their word.”

“We have a robust dialogue with the Americans; we agree 90 percent of the time,” he said. “Are we unhappy about the general tone in Washington, not the administration? We think it’s not entirely based on where the true relationship is and the value of the relationship, but it’s affected by domestic factors.”

In the aftermath of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal of Afghanistan and its abandonment of the Afghan government and army, analysts say Riyadh may have to think twice about relying on Washington for security.

Elsewhere, the Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement that the Saudi foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud had met U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington and exchanged views on the Iranian nuclear program and the international talks in this regard.

Iran says regional security can only be made possible by talks among neighbors in the region without foreign interference. Tehran has presented several initiatives to its Persian Gulf Allies to reduce tensions. Among them is the Hormuz Peace Endeavor, presented at the United Nations General Assembly in 2019. A carefully planned step toward reduction of the existing tensions in the region. However, under former President Donald Trump, who supported and armed Saudi Arabia to the teeth, Riyadh did not accept the proposal. With a change of Presidents in the White House and Washington focusing more on China and Russia, a delegation from Saudi Arabia has decided to sit down at the table with its counterpart Iran at several summits in the Iraqi capital Baghdad.

The post Saudis “serious” in talks with Iran appeared first on Iran News Daily.

If the Saudis, like Iran, have the will to mend ties, Tehran is ready “but the knot should be untied by the Saudis,” Hossein Danayeefar told IRNA in an interview published on Friday.

Tehran and Riyadh have been at loggerheads over the Saudi-led war on Yemen, the Saudi opposition to the 2015 nuclear deal, which was abandoned by former U.S. President Donald Trump in 2015 and imposed sanctions on Iran within his “maximum pressure” campaign against the Islamic Republic.

“Iraq seeks to find special place in the region”

The former ambassador also said Iraq sent its foreign minister to Tehran in efforts to keep Iraq safe from regional disputes and also promote the status of Iraq in the region.

“Iraqi diplomats and analysts believe that one of the reasons for the current situation in Iraq is that this country is affected by peripheral tensions. This analysis is technical and precise because in the current world regional and international developments affect situation all countries,” the former Ambassador remarked.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein visited Tehran on Tuesday to official deliver a letter to new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to visit Baghdad which plans to organize a regional summit late August or early September with the participation of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait as well as representatives from the European Union and the United Nations. According to some reports, the French president has also been invited to attend the conference.

Iraqi Mustafa al-Kadhimi recently told a group of journalists in Washington that Iraq will seek to play a bigger role in bringing regional powers together.

The Iraqi politicians believe that they should “reduce and manage peripheral tensions” so that they can create a situation within their own country to focus on main issues such as “power” and “governance”.

Most politicians in Iraq are eager to find a special place in the region, the former diplomat remarked.

“In other words, one of the main purposes of Baghdad is to promote the status and influence of this country in regional and international developments,” he opined.

“Iran sees no limit to improve ties with reginal states”

The former diplomat said such an appetite has made Iraq interested in organizing such a conference and mediate between countries.

Such an effort is not new in Iraq, he said, adding Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki started such efforts in his second administration and after the defeat of Daesh similar efforts were conducted by President Birham Salih and Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mehdi.

The former ambassador to Iraq said in a visit to Baghdad on January 2020 by Major General Qassem Soleimani, which led to his assassination by the U.S., Soleimani was going to meet then Iraq’s prime minister to convey Iran’s response to efforts by Baghdad to heal the rift between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

He went on to say that Iran is an “active, influential, and powerful” country in the region that sees no limit in strengthening relations with regional countries except the Zionist regime of Israel.

“Our relationship is very good with most Arab countries like Oman, Qatar, Iraq and Syria; it is normal with countries such as Jordan and have certain problems with certain (countries) like Saudi Arabia,” he explained.

“Tensions have badly affected interests of all regional countries”

The new Iranian administration in Iran also sees no limitations to cement ties with these countries, Danayeefar remarked.

He cited initiatives like the Hormuz Peace Endeavor (HOPE) as examples of efforts by Tehran to improve ties with neighbors and it even started dialogue with certain countries.

Even if Iraq did not try to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia, there was a will by the Islamic Republic to heal the rift with Riyadh “but the point is that whether the other side also has a will for serious dialogue, or it is waiting for the time to see the fate of the Vienna (nuclear) talks,” the former ambassador to Iraq pointed out.

He went on to say if Saudi Arabia is trying to “buy time” and waiting to see the result of the Vienna talks, there will be no “good prospects”.

“But if Riyadh shows it is serious for talks with Tehran and take practical steps, then we should witness a restoration of relations between the two countries.”

The prerequisite to mend the ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia is that talks should be “serious and transparent”, he said, adding if they just want to hold talks on the Yemen crisis “it will show that they are not serious in the talks.”

Insisting that Tehran is firm to mend it ties with the Saudi Kingdom, the former ambassador said, “Iran believes that cooperation between regional countries is essential and relations between countries should be improved because tensions have hurt the interests of all countries and the winner of these tensions is the Zionist regime.”

Asked whether regional countries have the capability to reach a consensus about regional issues, he said, “If there is a proper political will by all sides there is the possibility of an agreement.”

He added, “In fact, if the sides should determination for managing tensions, there will be the possibility of achieving an agreement despite difficulties.”

The senior analyst on regional affairs argued if the “knots between Iran and Saudi Arabia is untied then other knots will also be untied.”

It is not so that the Saudis don’t want to resolve the disputes, rather they imagine that it will not benefit them and this will only favor Tehran and increase Tehran’s influence in the West Asia region, he commented.

He said the Saudis have two views toward Iran.

One view is that the relations with Iran will create a new situation in the region and will unlock the deadlock in the region and pave the ground for great developments, he said.

The other view is that “we gain nothing in this relationship with Iran and instead we will endorse the behaviors and the moves of Iran,” he pointed out.

In addition to these two views there is a pressure by the United States on the Saudi not seek reproachment with Iran, he pointed out.

The post The key to mending Tehran-Riyadh ties is in Saudi hands appeared first on Iran News Daily.

TEHRAN (Iran News) –  Yemen says new UN envoy changes nothing .The head of Yemen’s national negotiating delegation, Mohammed Abdulsalam, says the appointment of a new UN envoy to the country does not mean anything.

Abdulsalam says there is no point in entering talks with the official, unless there is an explicit declaration to stop the aggression and lift the deadly siege.

He called for the reopening of Yemen’s airports and ports first as a priority saying this is an urgent humanitarian necessity.

Abdulsalam also warned that Saudi Arabia and it allies, waging war on Yemen, must acknowledge the suffering and destruction caused by their aggression and siege. He says they must be aware that the continuation of their intransigence will backfire.

Abdulsalam also denounced the United Nations’ role in the war saying it is an “accomplice” in the crime of closing Sana’a airport and the port of Hodeidah, as well as the siege imposed on the country as the world body has failed to live up to its responsibility.

“The continuation of the siege and the closure of Sana’a International Airport and the port of Hodeidah is a crime in which the United Nations is a participant, for it has allowed the aggressive forces to keep on with their aggression and crimes against an entire population” Abdulsalam said.

The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, named Swedish diplomat Hans Grundberg as his new Yemen envoy.

Grundberg replaces Martin Griffiths who (by his own account) failed at meditation efforts over the past three years to end the nearly seven year war on Yemen.

Abdulsalam says a meeting would be pointless as Grundberg “has nothing in his hands”. He added that there has been zero progress following last month’s visit to Riyadh by the U.S. envoy for Yemen, Tim Lenderking.

This comes as ground battles continue in Yemen’s gas-rich Ma’arib region, Saudi Arabia’s last stronghold in the country.

The war which Saudi Arabia waged on its southern neighbor, has killed tens of thousands of people and pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

The post Yemen says new UN envoy changes nothing appeared first on Iran News Daily.