Statements from a top Saudi Arabian official published over the weekend have the potential to deepen concerns that the US’s traditional Arab allies are preparing to pivot away from Washington – and potentially towards American rivals – as actors throughout the region continue sorting themselves into three solidifying and opposing camps. The Wall Street Journal interviewed Saudi Prince Turki al-Faisal, who was at the time attending a security conference in Monaco, and described him as ‘assailing the Obama administration for working behind Riyadh’s back’ on a deal with Iran and as ‘panning other recent US steps in the Middle East.’
Prince Turki also echoed concerns raised by Israel and members of the U.S. Congress that the interim nuclear accord with Iran didn’t go far enough to ensure Tehran won’t develop atomic bombs. The talks with Iran that have been taking place in Geneva involve the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany, a diplomatic bloc called the P5+1. “It’s important for us to sit down at the same table” as the global powers, Prince Turki said. “We have been absent.” Speaking on Sunday to European and Arab business leaders, he accused the White House of blindsiding Riyadh with its overtures to Iran, Saudi Arabia’s primary adversary…”What was surprising was that the talks that were going forward were kept from us,” he told the World Policy Conference. “How can you build trust when you keep secrets from what are supposed to be your closest allies?”
Political and diplomatic developments in the Middle East – most prominently in Egypt, Syria, and Iran – have in recent years generated and hardened three opposing blocs in the region, with an Iran-dominated Shiite camp aligned against the US’s traditional Israeli and Arab allies aligned against a Sunni camp composed of Turkey, Qatar, and the Muslim Brotherhood. Israeli radio reported on Sunday that a “historic” meeting had been held at the Monaco security conference between Faisal, former Israeli ambassador to Washington Itamar Rabinovich, and Israeli Knesset member Meir Sheetrit.
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