The US-based news website Politico raised speculation that the Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), was at risk of assassination over his push for normalization ties with Israel.
The column, written by Politico’s senior foreign affairs correspondent Nahal Toosi, relied on anonymous sources who told her about conversations that MBS had with members of the US Congress regarding the threats he faced.
MBS, she wrote, referenced this threat to explain why it was important that the deal also include an immediate pathway to Palestinian statehood.
Israel has been opposed to this component of the triad deal, even as it has embraced the idea of Saudi normalization.
“The Saudi royal has mentioned to members of Congress that he’s putting his life in danger by pursuing a grand bargain with the US and Israel that includes normalizing Saudi-Israeli ties,” she wrote.
Salman has “discussed the threats he faces in explaining why any such deal must include a true path to a Palestinian state, especially now that the war in Gaza has heightened Arab fury toward Israel,” she explained.
Is MBS trying to push US officials to raise pressure on Israel?
“I’ve come to view MBS’ framing of the situation as a clever diplomatic marketing strategy: He’s saying his life is in danger to push US officials to raise pressure on Israel to bend to a deal he likes,” Toosi wrote.
“Arguing that you’re putting your neck on the line for a potentially epochal deal is certainly a compelling way to get your interlocutors’ attention,” she argued.
“In fairness,” Toosi stated, “It’s probably also true.”
The triad deal had been high on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s agenda prior to the Hamas-led October 7 attack, after which it was put on the back burner, and then resurrected.
US President Joe Biden had hoped that a Gaza ceasefire deal would create a window by which to push the normalization agreement forward before the November 4 election for the White House.
It’s believed that the sitting Senate provides the best opportunity to pass such a deal, but Israel’s protracted war with the Iranian proxy groups Hamas and Hezbollah has made such a move impossible.
Netanyahu did not mention the Saudi deal during his joint address to the US Congress on July 24, but he did speak with Biden about it when the two met at the White House the next day.