• Saudi Arabia is looking for security guarantees from the US.
• In exchange for normalizing relations with Israel.
• Which could change the Middle East’s political landscape.

Saudi Arabia is relying on the United States for security assurances and assistance with its civilian nuclear program in exchange for normalizing relations with Israel.

This situation sets the stage for a crucial decision that could change the Middle East’s political landscape.

The conversations are still ongoing, so it remained unclear exactly how any deal may be structured, should one materialize.

Several members of Congress, who have urged the Biden administration to downgrade Washington’s ties with Riyadh, would undoubtedly be fiercely opposed to increasing security guarantees for Saudi Arabia.

Nonetheless, President Joe Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have prioritized improving ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel because they think doing so could contribute to greater security in the Middle East.

Although there are no formal diplomatic contacts between Israel and Saudi Arabia, they have been developing unofficial relationships for some time.

“The better the relations between Israel and their Arab neighbors, the better for everybody,” Biden said Friday at the end of a speech about the economy.

The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that Saudi Arabia was looking for security guarantees from the US; however, a spokeswoman for the US National Security Council declined to confirm this.

Instead, John Kirby, the NSC’s coordinator for strategic communications, highlighted the successes Biden achieved during his visits to Israel and Saudi Arabia during the summer.

“The President’s trip to the region accomplished a lot,” said Kirby, citing an agreement on contested Red Sea islands and a recent announcement by Oman it would allow Israeli overflights.

“We’re going to keep that diplomacy going,” he said.

A request for comment from the State Department received no response. The Washington-based Israeli Embassy declined to comment.

A deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel that was mediated by the US may have far-reaching effects. The future of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, which has seen resurgence of violence in recent weeks under Israel’s right-wing administration, would be cast into doubt.

While Iran has advanced its nuclear enrichment over the past year, American officials think that mending relations would give weight to a regional counterweight against Iran.

The Saudi-led OPEC+ oil cartel unexpectedly announced it would cut production last year, prompting Biden to threaten Saudi Arabia with “consequences.”

However, the Biden administration has no plans to take proactive measures to punish the oil-rich Middle Eastern nation, much less significantly reorient its policy towards it.

In a pact between two regional enemies that may have broad ramifications for the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Iran declared on Friday that they had decided to resume diplomatic relations after seven years of hostility.

Under a deal brokered by China, Riyadh and Tehran want to reopen their embassies, according to a joint statement released by Saudi Arabia and Iran on Friday.

According to Kirby, Saudi officials kept the White House updated on the conversations as they went along.

He did, however, downplay Beijing’s role in mediating the deal, stating that negotiations in Iraq and Oman were also included on the path to normalizing relations.

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