A Sino-crafted rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran is currently unfolding. Just last month, Abbas Araqchi, Iran's foreign minister, didn't merely settle for a handshake with Saudi Arabia's Faisal bin Farhan. Instead, he was whisked off to a high-stakes meeting with the Crown Prince himself, Mohammed bin Salman.
Beijing has been heavily involved in rekindling the love-hate relationship between Tehran and Riyadh. As the Middle Kingdom continues its whisper campaign, it nudged both nations to host Saudi Chief of Staff Fayyadh Al-Ruwaili in Tehran over a tense weekend.
These ties, once severed by seven years of bitterness and shadowed by Iran's whispered denials of attacks on Saudi oil sanctuaries, are being meticulously reconstructed. The focus is now on joint military pirouettes in the Red Sea and economic bridges, with Saudi Arabia playing the role of a humanitarian lifeline, circumventing American embargoes to nourish Iran with essential goods.
At an emergency summit in the heart of Riyadh, one year to the day since the Arab-Islamic conclave of 2023, the stage was set for a parade of Arab and Islamic leaders. Notably absent was Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, his seat filled by a deputy bearing apologies and the weight of internal "preparations" for an Israeli showdown.
Crown Prince bin Salman's opening salvo was nothing short of a rhetorical missile aimed squarely at Israeli ears. His audacious critique sidelined American aspirations of brokering a Saudi-Israeli détente, as he boldly demanded a "full withdrawal" from Gaza and the West Bank, and an immediate cessation of Israeli military maneuvers in Lebanon. His narrative expanded to include strikes in Iran and its proxies, a nod to Syria, Lebanon, and the Iraq-Syria border.
Trump speaks of ending wars
(Video: Fox News)
In an interview with Ynet and Yedioth Aharonoth, a high-ranking academic and confidant of the Saudi elite offered a nuanced perspective. "Prince bin Salman is a strategist with foresight, his gaze fixed on both the immediate and the horizon. Yes, he took a hard line against Israel at the summit, but the Israeli dossier is merely out of sight, not out of mind. The dialogue on relations will resume, but not now," he said.
Bin Salman's forceful oration directly addressed Israeli conduct, tracking IDF movements across multiple fronts, from Gaza to the depths of Iran, even touching upon Iraq. Curiously absent from Riyadh’s discourse were the Houthis of Yemen, a silence dictated by Saudi calculus.
"This summit's true audience resides in Washington. That it convened in Saudi Arabia, not Egypt, speaks volumes," an anonymous Saudi commentator confided. "The Crown Prince has seized the reins, leaving President el-Sisi to swallow his pride and follow suit, a reluctant participant in the reshaping of Arab leadership dynamics."
Professor Farid, another discreet Saudi voice, painted this diplomatic dance as a cautious yet bold pivot, not a robust peace but an artful maneuver. "This pivot began with embassy doors reopening in Tehran and Riyadh and continues relentlessly. It's fraught with peril, yet both parties tread carefully," he said.
Speculations abound of a Saudi gambit delivered to the incoming U.S. president, Donald Trump, a proposal to thaw Washington-Tehran relations. Advisers on both sides are acutely aware of each other’s Achilles' heels. The American gaze never wavers from Iran's nuclear ambitions, while Tehran’s leadership expertly plays the Washington tune.
Dr. Yoel Guzansky of the Institute for National Security Studies posits: "The Saudis aim for a pragmatic rapprochement with Iran, seeking to sidestep the looming crossfire of an Iranian-Israeli flare-up anticipated before Trump's inauguration. Their pro-Iranian rhetoric is a strategic message of non-alignment with Israel’s actions."
The silence on Saudi internal affairs and human rights from Washington is deafening, as the Saudis pin their hopes on Trump pressuring Netanyahu to swiftly conclude conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, and to make strides on the Palestinian issue – a façade of progress toward a two-state solution.
Today's bin Salman is a ruler transformed, his power and clarity sharpened over four years, yet his wary eye remains on Iran. Trump’s promise to quell wars resonates in Riyadh with Saudi Arabia, followed by Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon, poised for a shift in Washington’s winds. Their demand: An American arms embargo on Israel to halt the Israeli offensive.
Hezbollah and Hamas were mere footnotes at the summit, as the Crown Prince gears up to collaborate with President Trump, painting a bleak tableau to "end all wars."
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