The U.S. and Saudi Arabia are negotiating a potential security agreement that would not involve the normalization of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, multiple sources reported on Monday. According to three officials familiar with the talks, senior U.S. and Saudi representatives met last week in Washington, D.C., aiming to reach a smaller security deal that falls short of the broader defense pact Riyadh initially sought.
This dialogue comes as previous efforts to secure a trilateral deal between the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and Israel have stalled amid intensifying hostilities in Gaza and tensions surrounding Palestinian statehood.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan led discussions on a bilateral arrangement to enhance security cooperation. Prince Faisal indicated that while a comprehensive normalization deal remains unlikely, some U.S.-Saudi bilateral agreements could advance “quite quickly.”
Axios reports that Saudi national security adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban participated in these meetings with Blinken, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, and other senior White House advisors, including Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein.
The Biden administration’s initial plan involved a broader “mega-deal,” which included U.S. security assurances for Saudi Arabia alongside normalized Saudi-Israel relations. The proposed agreements were modeled in part after the Abraham Accords—brokered in 2020 by the U.S.—which established formal ties between Israel and several Gulf nations, including Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. However, ongoing violence has made progress on such an arrangement difficult, particularly given Israel’s recent refusal to pursue a diplomatic path for Palestinian statehood.
Saudi Arabia has consistently held off on joining the Abraham Accords, citing the importance of Palestinian rights and sovereignty as a precondition for normalizing relations with Israel.
In recent weeks, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed his commitment to expanding Israel’s relations with Arab states, though he has also emphasized that Israel’s security and regional alliances come first. Speaking to the Knesset, Netanyahu praised Israel’s strength and determination in the region, noting his desire for “peace out of strength with important countries in the Middle East.”
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