US and Saudi Arabia Said to Be Near Historic Pact

The US and Saudi Arabia are said to be nearing a historic pact that would offer the kingdom security guarantees and lay out a possible pathway to diplomatic ties with Israel. The agreement would amount to a new version of a framework that was scuttled by the Israel-Hamas war. Negotiations have sped up in recent weeks, and many officials are optimistic that Washington and Riyadh could reach a deal soon. Such an accord would potentially reshape the Middle East: Beyond bolstering Israel and Saudi Arabia’s security, it would strengthen the US’s position in the region at the expense of Iran and even China.

If this latest idea out of the White House works, it could bring the foreign policy of President Joe Biden full circle in less than a year—and with an ironic twist, Andreas Kluth writes in Bloomberg Opinion. The potential pact between the US and Saudi Arabia is different than its first iteration, which was intended as a three-way deal with Israel to isolate Iran. This version, Kluth writes, would aim just as much to pressure Israel.