Israeli FM: US-Saudi defence pact would make nuclear ambitions ‘unnecessary’

A US-Saudi defence pact would stabilise the Middle East and prevent Riyadh from seeking nuclear weapons in the future, Israel’s Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has written in the Wall Street Journal. 

In a piece entitled Korea Is a Model for Middle East Peace, Cohen said that a defence pledge by Washington could “reassure Middle Eastern nations, primarily Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.”

The foreign minister argued that this approach would make “individual nuclear ambitions unnecessary” while bolstering regional stability, and “promote the peace and normalisation agenda,” referring to a much talked about Saudi-Israeli normalisation deal.

Cohen uses South Korea as an example to back up his claim about Saudi Arabia giving up any nuclear ambitions it might have.

“South Korea, despite living under the shadow of a nuclear-armed neighbour and having the means to develop its own nuclear weapons, has abstained from nuclear-weapons development. The US’s defence commitment acts as South Korea’s deterrent against Northern aggression,” he said.

Cohen’s comment came after New York Times reported that Saudi Arabia is asking Washington for permission to develop a civilian nuclear programme in exchange for a deal with Israel.

Despite Saudi Arabia and Iran renewing diplomatic relations recently, Cohen claimed that a “united front, bringing together moderate Sunni nations and Israel, would be an effective check on Iran’s growing ambitions.

Iran’s nuclear programme, which has developed significantly in the past year and made it a nuclear threshold state, still needs to be fought “through international economic and diplomatic pressure and a credible military threat,” according to Cohen.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg, Prime Minister Netanyahu also commented on the rumours about a possible deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

“If there’s political will, there will be a political way to achieve normalisation and a formal peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia,” Netanyahu said.

The prime minister also downplayed any potential concessions Israel might have to make vis a vis the Palestinians, despite a recent New York Times article reporting that Saudi Arabia will demand “significant progress” on the Palestinian issue.

“I think the Palestinian thing is brought in all the time, and it’s sort of a check box. You have to check it to say that you’re doing it,” Netanyahu said.