Joe Biden Should Press Hold on Saudi-Israel Normalization

(This fucking horrible deal comes from MbS telling the world months ago that they will suspend all trade and potential deals with Israel until they recognize Palestinian statehood. Our sycophantic collaborators in D.C. rushed over there and dropped to their knees promising the moon and the stars to S.A. in an effort to buy them off. What does S.A. do for us? They recognize Israel. WTF does that do for us? Should be TREASON on Biden's part. U.S. lives to defend the kings of Saud? Are you fucking shitting me? They also know this will drive a wedge between the kingdom and other Muslim nations who back Palestinian statehood like Iran. This is TREASON and it is an attempt to relieve pressure on Israel that could bring an end to the genocide in Gaza. It is pathetic.)

from National Interest

Amid the horrors of the war in Gaza, a better future awaits the Middle East. A grand bargain is on offer that would establish diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel, move toward a two-state solution, and create a bulwark against Iran via a U.S.-Saudi defense treaty. 

But we are not there yet. Before normalization, the Saudis insist that Israel take “credible and irreversible” steps toward a two-state solution. The current Israeli government won’t take those steps, meaning normalization will have to wait for a more centrist government. Since the structure of the grand bargain is that nothing is agreed upon until everything is agreed upon, a deal is not at hand. That means the United States should shift focus away from its attempt to get an accord before the presidential election in November. Instead, Washington and Riyadh should lay a firm foundation for the next U.S. president to finish the deal.

To review the bidding in the grand bargain, the United States would commit to a binding defense treaty with Saudi Arabia, provide it with civilian nuclear reactors, streamlined weapons sales, and access to advanced chips for Artificial Intelligence development. Saudi Arabia would recognize Israel, limit Chinese participation in sensitive sectors such as high-tech, and sign a Safeguards Agreement and possibly the Additional Protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency to govern the use of nuclear reactors. Israel would commit to a two-state solution (process)...

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Saudi Crown Prince Breathes Fire; MBS Launches Biggest Attack On Israel Over IDF's Rafah Assault

from Times of India

 

'Saudi Arabia has once again accused Israel of genocide in Gaza and blasted international community's inaction over the massacres in Gaza strip, including Rafah city. Riyadh called for international action against Israel and demanded an end to the Israeli military attacks on Palestinians across Occupied Palestine, including Gaza. Watch the video for more.'

No Saudi defense pact without Israel deal – White House

from RT

The US will not enter into a defense agreement with Saudi Arabia unless the kingdom recognizes the state of Israel, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said. However, Riyadh has made any recognition deal contingent on the Israelis agreeing to work toward the formal establishment of an independent Palestinian state.

Media reports last week suggested that Washington and Riyadh were drawing closer to signing a bilateral security pact, even as progress toward a Saudi-Israel normalization deal remained stalled. According to Reuters, the pact would see the US enter into a formal alliance with Saudi Arabia and help with its civilian nuclear program in exchange for Riyadh cutting some economic ties with China...

The Saudi Foreign Ministry stated in February that the kingdom would not establish formal relations with Israel “unless an independent Palestinian state is recognized on the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital, and that the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip stops and all Israeli occupation forces withdraw from the Gaza Strip.”...

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Gaza UPDATES

 

Bibi is in deep trouble. MbS is dictating a resolution. And CBS is airing Bibi's dirty laundry on Sunday.

It's about to get real in Tel Aviv.

Saudi FM says US bilateral agreements ‘very, very close’

from al Jazeera

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister says Saudi-US security pact negotiations that bilateral agreements between the kingdom and the United States were “very very close.”

“Most of the work has already been done. We have the broad outlines of what we think needs to happen on the Palestinian front,” Faisal bin Farhan said in a panel at the World Economic Forum special meeting in Riyadh.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was on the same panel, added that an agreement “is potentially very close to completion” but that there must be a credible path towards a Palestinian state to move forward.

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Saudi Arabia warns of economic fallout from Gaza war, geopolitics

from Daily Sabah

Saudi Arabia on Sunday called for regional "stability," warning of the geopolitical risks and effects of the ongoing Israeli war on Gaza on the global economic sentiment at the start of a summit attended by a host of Gaza mediators.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Palestinian leaders and high-ranking officials from other countries trying to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas are on the guest list for the summit in Riyadh, capital of the world's biggest crude oil exporter.

The Gaza war along with conflicts in Ukraine and elsewhere put "a lot of pressure" on the economic "mood," Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al Jadaan said at one of the first panel discussions of the two-day World Economic Forum (WEF) special meeting.

"I think cool-headed countries and leaders and people need to prevail, and you need to make sure that you actually de-escalate," Al Jadaan said.

"The region needs stability."...

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Saudi Arabia warns Israel of 'very serious repercussions' if ground invasion of Rafah proceeds

from Fox News

Saudi Arabia has warned Israel that a planned invasion of the city of Rafah may cause an imminent humanitarian disaster.

The oil-rich nation’s foreign ministry released a statement on Saturday calling for an immediate ceasefire to the conflict as Israel is poised to launch a ground invasion of Rafah, which borders Egypt at the southern end of the Gaza Strip. More than half of Gaza's estimated 2.3 million population is now packed into the city.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office has ordered the military to develop a plan to evacuate the population city ahead of a ground invasion to destroy four Hamas battalions it says are deployed there...

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Iranian, Saudi FMs discuss Gaza war, stress need for halt of Israel's aggression

 from Press TV

Iran’s top diplomat has held talks with his Saudi counterpart on the Gaza war and its spread to the region, with the two sides stressing the need for an end to Israeli atrocities.

A statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry said Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Faisal bin Farhan voiced concern over the continuation of the regime’s atrocities against the oppressed Palestinian people and discussed the necessity for an end to the war and removal of the blockade on Gaza and the return of calm to the wider region.

The two ministers also discussed the situation in the Red Sea, which has been a scene of Yemeni military’s attacks on Israel-linked ships and also US-UK strikes on the Arab country.

The two sides also talked about the course of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

“The two sides expressed satisfaction about [the level of] bilateral ties and stressed the development and deepening of the two countries’ cooperation in fields of interest,” the statement read...

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Saudi FM hints at Israel recognition if Palestinian issue resolved

from Daily Sabah

Saudi Arabia's top diplomat hinted Tuesday that the kingdom could recognize Israel if the Palestinian issue is resolved.

Asked at a panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos whether Saudi Arabia could take this step as part of a wider agreement after a resolution of the Palestinian conflict, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said, "Certainly."

 

Israel rules out Jerusalem base for Saudi envoy to Palestinians

by Dan Williams from Reuters

 Israel ruled out on Sunday a diplomatic base in Jerusalem for the new Saudi envoy to the Palestinians, whose appointment comes as Washington tries to forge formal Israeli relations with Riyadh.

Saudi Ambassador to Jordan Nayef Al-Sudairi on Saturday expanded his credentials to include non-resident envoy to the Palestinians. A social media post by his embassy in Amman said "consul-general in Jerusalem" was now among Al-Sudairi's duties.

Biden's Big Middle East Deal is a Hollow Sham

Saudi Arabia would never go for it because Israel will have to recognize the state of Palestine and give back what they stole.

Evaluating Stories From China and Saudi Arabia via Source and Context

 

And you might just come away with a better understanding of the world and our place in it.

5 Sentenced to Death in KSA for Khashoggi Murder: What Does it Mean?

Jamal Khashoggi. CIA connections. New regime change centered NGO. Lots to unpack here.

Riyadh doesn’t yet know who carried oil strikes or why: Saudi energy minister

from Press TV

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman says Riyadh does not yet know who were behind the highly disruptive drone attacks on Saudi Aramco petroleum and gas processing plants at Abqaiq and Khurais in the kingdom's Eastern Province, which sent crude prices skyrocketing.

“We don't know who is behind the attack,” he told reporters in the western Red Sea city of Jeddah on Tuesday, adding that Riyadh wants “proof based on professionalism and internationally recognized standards.”

Prince Abdulaziz, who was only appointed to the role earlier this month, went on to say that Saudi Arabia had dipped into its strategic reserves to maintain supply to clients.

He said stricter measures were needed to be taken to prevent further attacks, but did provide any elaboration...

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Japan says Houthis, not Iran, conducted Saudi attacks

from Press TV

Japan says it has not seen any evidence to prove a claim by the United States that Iran was involved in recent attacks on Saudi oil facilities.

“We are not aware of any information that points to Iran,” Japan’s Defense Minister Taro Kono told reporters at a briefing on Wednesday.

 “We believe the Houthis carried out the attack based on the statement claiming responsibility,” he added, referring to the Yemeni group incorporated into the armed forces fighting back a Saudi-led war on Yemen.

Kono further said Japan would not participate in any potential military action against Iran due to constitutional restraints and would instead pursue a diplomatic solution to the current tensions in the region.

The Yemeni military, which also comprises of members of the Houthi Ansarullah movement, targeted Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities run by the Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco before dawn on Saturday.

The attacks knocked out more than half of the Saudi crude output, or five percent of the global supply.

US officials soon claimed that the attacks had originated from inside Iran.
Iran has rejected the accusation and said the attacks were a legitimate act of self-defense by Yemen, which has been under incessant strikes by the Saudi-led coalition since 2015. The US is a member of that invading coalition....

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Saudi Arabia ready to ditch petrodollar as ‘nuclear option’ to stop NOPEC bill – reports

from RT

Saudi Arabia is reportedly threatening to sell its oil in other currencies if the US passes a bill permitting antitrust lawsuits to be filed against OPEC members in US courts, a move which would decimate the tottering petrodollar.

If the US infringes on OPEC states' sovereign immunity and greenlights lawsuits for antitrust violations, energy officials in Riyadh are prepared to sell their oil in other currencies, according to multiple sources familiar with Saudi energy policy, one of whom told Reuters the threat has already been communicated to high-ranking US energy officials.

“The Saudis know they have the dollar as the nuclear option,” one of the sources reportedly said, while another cited Saudis as saying “let the Americans pass NOPEC and it would be the US economy that would fall apart.”

Such a move has the potential to topple the US dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency, particularly since other OPEC members –namely Iran and Venezuela– have their own reasons to ditch the petrodollar, under US sanctions as they are, and non-OPEC oil producers like Russia also mulling such a measure...

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Venezuela Regime Change Op has Roots in Saudi Arabia, MbS and Failure of Vision 2030

Taking a big picture view of the ongoing regime change op in Venezuela.

Exposing Paul Jay and RNN's Lies About Saudi Arabia and 9/11

Paul Jay interviews a guy who hung out with the chief financier of 9/11 patsies... so they can blame Saudi Arabia for financing 9/11 patsies... at a time when MbS is stalling on Vision 2030 plan.

And not a single mention of Dancing Israelis.

The Real News Network is nothing more than REAL PROPAGANDA.

Larry Wilkerson LIES Again: Supporting ANOTHER Regime Change Op

Col. Larry is back to his old deceitful tricks, doing his thing in support of our oligarchs' efforts to make the world safe for neoliberalism.

This time Larry Wilkerson is pushing a regime change operation in Saudi Arabia just like he did back in 2002 and 2003 with the Iraq regime change operation. His BS is absolutely insulting and the fact that he delivers this propaganda on the Real News network is even more insulting.

Pentagon says Riyadh is too important to whip, rolls out $15bn THAAD arms deal instead

from RT   (H/T Whitney)

The US rarely has 'unblemished' partners so it will pour more defensive weapons into Saudi Arabia despite outrage over Khashoggi and Yemen, Pentagon chief James Mattis admitted as the nation handed the kingdom a big new deal.

The most-recent major US-Saudi arms deal was rolled out on Wednesday. Riyadh is seeking to get THAAD air defense missile systems, and the terms of the purchase were quietly formalized this week, the State Department announced. Under the $15 billion contract, Riyadh will receive 44 THAAD launchers, missiles and related equipment.

The news of a yet another lucrative contract came the very same day Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rushed to defend the kingdom against the mounting anger in the Senate over the murder of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the bloody war in Yemen. Speaking at a closed-door briefing, they explained that Saudi Arabia is simply too important to scrap existing bonds.

The Pentagon's chief called Riyadh "fundamental" to regional and Israeli security, as well as crucial for the US' own interests.

"We are seldom free to work with unblemished partners," Mattis bluntly admitted. He went on to argue that the ties with the kingdom "cannot be dismissed" even as Washington condemned Khashoggi's death...
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