Shachar Kleilman
Israel Hayom, May 12, 2025
“Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman promised Palestinian Authority Deputy Chairman Hussein al-Sheikh that there would be no normalization with Israel without ending the war in Gaza and a diplomatic process to establish a Palestinian state.”
President Donald Trump’s visit to the Middle East comes amid long-term changes in relations between the US and Arab nations. In recent years, it appears that rulers in the Middle East are conducting more complex foreign policy. Their gaze is no longer fixed solely on Washington but increasingly on Beijing and Moscow.
Senior Saudi researcher Dr. Aziz Alghashian does not believe there will be a significant turning point in US-Saudi relations following President Donald Trump’s visit. He believes the Saudis will demonstrate that they are “ready to do business, but not at any price.”
Alghashian recalls the Iranian drone attack on the kingdom’s oil facilities six years ago. He says, “One of the factors behind the rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran was Trump’s lack of response in 2019, or the hesitant response.” Riyadh and Tehran reestablished ties in an agreement mediated by China in March 2023.
“I think it was a disappointment,” the Saudi researcher tells Israel Hayom about the 2019 events. “It demonstrated to the Saudis the fact that they said, ‘Okay, we’ll need to do things completely differently from now on. We’ll need to invest more in the regional rapprochement process, especially with Iran and even with other actors. And if the US can help with that, then that would be good. If not, we can at least protect ourselves from the consequences that Donald Trump might bring.'”
“In my opinion, there are also differences between Trump’s current visit and Trump’s visit in 2017. That year, there wasn’t just investment in trying to develop relations between Saudi Arabia and the US, but also investment in Trump himself. There was a reception that really tried to ‘win over’ Trump. This time the visit is different and more business-oriented. I think the Saudis will demonstrate that they are ready to do business, but not at any price,” he said. ….SOURCE