Saudi-Israel peace is a shared objective of the US and Saudi Arabia, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said Monday.
“We seek to accomplish a great deal with the Saudis to end the war in Yemen and ease Yemen’s humanitarian crisis, to use our leadership to forge ties across the region’s most bitter divides, whether that’s finding a way back from the brink of war with Iran into a meaningful regional dialogue, or forging a historic peace with Israel,” he said in a press briefing.
However, that is only possible “in a partnership with Saudi Arabia that respects America’s values,” Price said. “Saudi actions will determine how much of this ambitious shared positive agenda we can achieve.”
The US is “focused on future conduct” of Saudi Arabia after it sanctioned some Saudi officials over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi but fell short of sanctions against Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, he said.
Future arms sales to Saudi Arabia will be evaluated on the basis of US interests and values, Price said. He urged Saudi Arabia to disband its rapid intervention force, which was involved in killing Khashoggi.
Price’s remarks came several days after the US released the director of national intelligence’s report on the killing of Khashoggi, which said there were strong indications the Saudi crown prince had ordered his killing. The US announced a “recalibration” of US-Saudi ties and recommended sanctioning the officials involved.
The US generally does not sanction the leaders of countries with which it has diplomatic relations, Price said.
Earlier Monday, an Israeli official confirmed that Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have discussed forming an alliance to face common enemies.
The matter is being “informally discussed,” the source said, adding that the countries are US allies. All four believe a nuclear Iran would be a major threat and have been eyeing the Biden administration’s plan to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal with concern.
“There is much to be gained by expanding cooperation,” the source said.
The remarks came following an article by World Jewish Congress president Ron Lauder in Arab News calling for a “NATO of the Middle East.”
Saudi Arabia does not have a free press, and Arab News, an English-language daily newspaper published in Saudi Arabia, is owned by Prince Turki bin Salman Al Saud, a son of King Salman and brother of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. It is seen as reflecting the Saudi government’s official views.
Israel was in talks with the three Gulf states about a defense alliance, i24 News reported last week.
The Prime Minister’s Office said it was “not confirming the report, but we are always interested in upgrading ties with our Middle East partners.”
One early indicator of a possible defense alliance is that Israel did not object to the US selling F-35 fighter jets to the UAE after the countries normalized ties as part of the Abraham Accords last year.
Under US law, Washington must ensure its weapons sales in the Middle East do not threaten Israel’s qualitative military edge in the region. Israel was the only Middle Eastern country in the F-35 program. But following meetings between Defense Minister Benny Gantz and his US counterpart at the time, Jerusalem gave the green light to sell the planes to Abu Dhabi.
Israel still does not have official ties with Saudi Arabia. But it grew closer with the three Gulf states with which it is discussing further security cooperation in the aftermath of the 2015 deal between world powers and Iran. They believe Iran would not be prevented from developing a nuclear weapon once the agreement expires.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and MBS, as the Saudi crown prince is known, secretly met in Neom, a planned futuristic-Saudi city on the Red Sea, last November.
Reuters contributed to this report.