Hamid Khoshayand – an expert on regional issues
In the past four years, Saudi Arabia and the Zionist regime, thanks to the efforts of the United States, have taken important steps toward reconciliation, convergence, and regional cooperation. Still, today, due to various reasons, including the strategic consequences of Operation Al-Aqsa Storm for the Zionist regime, the Gaza war and its international dimensions, the pressures caused by public opinion, the expansion of the depth and scope of anti-Zionist sentiments in the region and Islamic countries, as well as the resistance of the Zionist regime to the recognition of Palestine as an independent country, have slowed down and hindered the reconciliation process between Riyadh and Tel Aviv.
Despite this, the US government is still seeking to advance the compromise plan, and even amid months of inconclusive ceasefire talks between the Zionist regime and Hamas, it has not stopped its broader diplomatic efforts to establish diplomatic relations between Riyadh and Tel Aviv.
Recently, the Biden administration has put the strengthening of defense and security relations with Saudi Arabia as an “incentive” to sign the reconciliation agreement between this country and the Zionist regime. In this regard, aiming to ” facilitate and speed up” the Riyadh-Tel Aviv reconciliation process, the White House is finalizing a treaty with Saudi Arabia that commits the United States to defend the kingdom against foreign invasion.
An official report has not yet been published on the full details of Biden’s security and defense proposal to Riyadh, but based on existing speculations and news from Western sources, what the US government has presented to Saudi Arabia is actually similar to the country’s security and defense treaty with Japan, which was Signed in the 1960s.
According to the treaty mentioned above, which is part of a more extensive defense, military, and security deal, the United States will be committed to defending Saudi Arabia against foreign military attacks. On the other hand, the US will be allowed to use the land and sky of Saudi Arabia to protect its interests and those of its partners and allies in the region. In addition, Riyadh will receive advanced military equipment from the United States in exchange for stopping the purchase of Chinese weapons and restricting Chinese investment in this country, which will be costly for Saudi Arabia.
The implementation of the US defense and security treaty with Saudi Arabia requires the approval of two-thirds of the Senate, which makes the process of signing it “difficult” unless the US Senate is sure of signing the Riyadh-Tel Aviv compromise plan.
Although the US government’s defense and security offer to Saudi Arabia is tempting, it has not been closed with any country except Japan in the last sixty years because from the point of view of “benefit-cost,” it has far more costs for Riyadh and in the long run Saudi Arabia will face “strategic threats.”
If signed, such an agreement would allow the US to access Saudi territory, which would not only violate Saudi Arabia’s independence, sovereignty, national security, and territorial integrity but also complicate Riyadh’s foreign relations with the region’s countries, especially with the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council.
This issue may face serious “sensitivities” and “concerns” at the level of public opinion in Saudi Arabia, considering the security, political, and social consequences of the presence of American forces in the host countries.
Today, Arab public opinion is well aware that the security and political indicators in countries that have various forms of military and security treaties with the United States or host American forces and military bases are in an “unfavorable situation.” At the same time, the host governments are also facing “serious challenges” from public opinion and domestic political currents due to the growing trend of anti-American sentiments.
On the other hand, despite the extensive efforts and defense and security proposals of the United States to Saudi Arabia, the compromise process is facing difficult obstacles and challenges, the most important of which are mentioned: First, in the post-Al-Aqsa operation and the Gaza war, compromise with the Zionist regime has become costly and challenging. The presentation of Biden’s new defense proposal to Riyadh clearly shows how costly and expensive the compromise with the Zionist regime has become.
Second, Saudi Arabia cannot ignore the issue of domestic and regional public opinion and the resulting pressures, as well as the widespread anger that has been formed against this regime after the Zionist regime invaded Gaza, in any of its decisions regarding compromise with the Zionist regime.
Ignoring public opinion’s sensitivities can definitely provoke internal protests and the “anger and reaction” of Resistance groups in the region.
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