Blinken meets Saudi crown prince amid tensions in Middle East

RIYADH:

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday, his first stop on a Middle East tour as Washington tries to advance negotiations on a normalization deal between the kingdom and Israel and make progress in post-war talks governance of Gaza.

The top US diplomat’s fifth trip to the region since the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas comes at a perilous time and amid retaliatory US strikes against Iranian-backed militias across Syria, Iraq and Yemen as response to a drone attack last week in Jordan that killed three American soldiers and wounded dozens.

Blinken is also due to visit Egypt, Qatar and Israel this week and push to advance talks with Hamas brokered by Egypt and Qatar to reach a hostage deal.

In Riyadh, Blinken met with the kingdom’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and his Saudi counterpart, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, a US official said.

The veteran diplomat’s latest trip comes at a time senior US officials describe as one of the most dangerous the region has seen in decades. The conflict has escalated as Iran-backed groups have entered the fray and fired on US forces in Iraq and Syria, while Yemen’s Houthis have attacked shipping lanes in the Red Sea.

Read also: Blinken tells Abbas that the US supports “tangible steps” for a Palestinian state

However, Blinken will try to reinforce the message that the Biden administration is not seeking war with Iran, nor does it want the conflict to escalate further.

A key priority is for the secretary to “send a message directly to countries in the region that the United States does not want to see the conflict escalate and will not escalate the conflict,” according to a senior US official briefing reporter en route to Riyadh. . “It’s important to show up and say it one-on-one.”

Iran has so far avoided any direct role in the conflict, despite supporting these militias. The Biden administration has openly said it does not want war with Iran, despite criticism from Republicans in Congress, some of whom have supported strikes inside Iran. The Pentagon also said it does not believe Tehran wants war either.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Sunday declined to be briefed on whether the United States could attack sites inside Iran. He said Washington did not see a wider war but would continue to respond if attacked.

There is no reason for the US retaliatory campaign, which has been unfolding since Friday, to derail Washington’s talks with Arab states and Israel on normalization and post-war Gaza, a senior US official said.

Pieces interlocked

More than 130 hostages remain in Gaza and their possible release by Hamas is among the issues discussed in talks brokered by Qatar and Egypt with the backing of the United States in exchange for a humanitarian pause. Although officials have made some progress, they warned that gaps remain.

The hostage deal and humanitarian pause are now seen as key to helping push forward talks on a normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel, which had frozen soon after Oct. 7 but resumed in recent weeks.

Speaking in Davos last month, Blinken said there was “a new equation” in the Middle East in which Israel’s Arab and Muslim neighbors were ready to integrate Israel into the region, but had to see a way to create a Palestinian state.

Discussions over who would rule Gaza after the war, how the Palestinian Authority should be reformed to eventually rule the enclave and obtaining security guarantees for Israel are now moving parts of the same equation, the US official said, adding that reaching outcomes would require compromises by Israelis and Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has disagreed with the Biden administration over the creation of an independent Palestinian state, saying he would not compromise on “full Israeli security control of all lands west of the Jordan River.” The talks are at a sensitive stage and any progress will not be easy, the US official added.