WASHINGTON: Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said that his country was moving steadily closer to normalizing relations with Israel and also warned that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon, “we have to get one.”
“Every day we get closer,” the crown prince in an interview with a US media outlet, when asked to characterize talks aimed at long-time foes Israel and Saudi Arabia reaching a landmark agreement to open diplomatic relations.
The interview comes as President Joe Biden’s administration presses ahead with an effort to broker historic ties between the two regional powerhouses, Washington’s top Middle East allies.
The normalization talks are the centerpiece of complex negotiations that also include discussions of US security guarantees and civilian nuclear help that Riyadh has sought, as well as possible Israeli concessions to the Palestinians.
“For us, the Palestinian issue is very important. We need to solve that part,” the Saudi Crown Prince said when asked what it would take to get a normalization agreement.
“We have a good negotiations strategy till now. We got to see where we go. We hope that will reach a place that will ease the life of the Palestinians and get Israel as a player in the Middle East,” he said, speaking in English.
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He also voiced concern about the possibility that Iran, a mutual adversary of Saudi Arabia and Israel that the US wants to contain, could obtain a nuclear weapon. “That’s a bad move,” he said. “If you use it, you got to have a big fight with the rest of the world.”
Asked what would happen if Iran did get a nuclear bomb, he said: “If they get one, we have to get one, for security reasons and the balance of power in the Middle East. But we don’t want to see that.”
The crown prince’s comments came on the same day as a long-waited meeting between Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in which they pledged to work together toward Israeli-Saudi normalization, which could reshape the geopolitics of the Middle East. Both leaders also said Iran could not be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon.
The Saudi Crown Prince issued the stark warning to Tehran despite the two countries having agreed in Chinese-brokered talks in March to restore relations after years of hostility.
He offered an olive branch to Iran, saying the two countries had made a “good start” and he hoped it would continue.
Facing criticism from the US, the Saudi Crown Prince also defended OPEC+’s decision to cut oil output, saying it was based on market stability and not intended to help energy-dependent Russia in its war in Ukraine.
When asked about Russia’s military campaign, said the invasion of another country was “really bad” but he appeared to stick to his position of not taking sides in the war.
