As part of the US’s effort to strengthen its presence in the Middle East, a significant reduction of Chinese technology in Saudi Arabia is expected as a result of an advanced defense agreement with the kingdom. However, many doubt that Biden can achieve this move without including Israel and its normalization with Saudi Arabia. Despite efforts on Biden’s part to implement the move in the near future, which will earn him an important political achievement and an important milestone in his foreign policy ahead of the presidential elections in November.
The possibility of such an agreement has been met with skepticism by many, as it includes huge benefits for Saudi Arabia, especially in the nuclear field. Some worry that without clear benefits for Israel, Congress may not approve the move. Despite this, Netanyahu has been repeating his opposition to any conditions for ending the war in Gaza without achieving “total victory” over Hamas. Israel has been emphasizing recently that they will not give up on their goal of a large-scale operation in Rafah.
Yesterday it was reported that Blinken reiterated to Netanyahu in Jerusalem that the US opposes any large-scale operation in Rafah. According to a report by The British Guardian, it seems that if Israel does not agree to end the war and join the move, then the US and Saudi Arabia are preparing a Plan B for their agreement. This plan involves establishing a civilian nuclear program in their area but at least initially, Saudi Arabia will not be able to enrich uranium on its territory.
At the beginning of this week, American Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said during his visit to Riyadh that “the US and Saudi Arabia have recently done very intensive work regarding