Blinken from Riyadh: Iran rising 'threat' demands 'integrated defense'
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The US and French foreign ministers speak from Riyadh on the issues of the captives, the humanitarian situation, and ceasefire in Gaza.
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A man mourns over the shrouded bodies of his family members who were killed in an Israeli strike on a residential home in Rafah, in January 2025. (AFP via Getty Images)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on Monday for tighter defense integration among Gulf Arabs in response to Iran.
Blinken is on his seventh visit to the Middle East since October 7 and his first since Iran carried out a retaliatory attack on "Israel, by firing missiles and armed drones at military sites, in response to the aggression on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
Completely sidelining "Israel's" initial attack on the consulate, which is deemed an attack on Iranian soil as per international law, Blinken told Gulf Cooperation Council ministers meeting in Riyadh, "This attack highlights the acute and growing threat from Iran but also the imperative that we work together on integrated defence."
The top official said the United States would hold talks in the coming weeks with the six-nation bloc on integrating air and missile defense and boosting maritime security.
He said that the region had a choice on its future, including "one ridden with divisions and destruction and violence and permanent instability."
Gulf Arabs, through their meeting with the United States, were choosing "greater integration" and "greater peace", he claimed.
Opening the meeting, Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, said the "international community's failure to find a solution to the Palestinian cause" presents one of the "most significant" challenges to regional security.
On this point, Blinken claimed that he would press for a Palestinian state and more humanitarian access to Gaza.
"The most effective way to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, to alleviate the suffering," Blinken said, adding, "And to create space for a more just and durable solution is to get a ceasefire and the hostages home."
Gaza deal 'extraordinarily generous', 'hopeful' Hamas will accept it
In another context, the US Secretary of State said Monday he was hopeful Hamas would accept an "extraordinarily generous" deal offered by "Israel" to ensure the release of captives.
"Hamas has before it a proposal that is extraordinarily, extraordinarily generous on the part of Israel," Blinken said in Riyadh at the World Economic Forum.
"In this moment, the only thing standing between the people of Gaza and a ceasefire is Hamas," he said.
"They have to decide -- and they have to decide quickly," Blinken said. "I'm hopeful that they will make the right decision."
"We can have a fundamental change in the dynamic," Blinken added.
On the controversial point of a Rafah invasion, Blinken renewed US opposition to any offensive on Gaza's southernmost city of Rafah.
He still admitted that "we have not yet seen a plan that gives us confidence that civilians can be effectively protected."
US-Saudi security pact for normalization with 'Israel' nears 'completion'
The United States is close to finishing a security pact with Saudi Arabia that would be offered if it signs a normalization agreement with "Israel", Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday.
"The work that Saudi Arabia, the United States have been doing together in terms of our own agreements, I think, is potentially very close to completion," Blinken said in Riyadh.
The US Secretary of State further claimed that it was diplomacy that halted regional escalation since the war on Gaza started, including after the unprecedented Iranian retaliatory attack earlier this month.
"We did come very close to an escalation or spread of the conflict, and I think because of very focused, very determined efforts, we've been able to avoid it," Blinken told the World Economic Forum meeting in Riyadh.
A delegation from Hamas was due on Monday in Egypt, which with Qatar has been seeking to broker a deal that would halt the Israeli genocide and see captives freed.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken commenced his diplomatic tour of the Middle East on Monday, as he arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday. This visit reportedly serves as the starting point of a broader itinerary aimed at addressing regional issues across the Middle East.
In Riyadh, he is anticipated to meet with senior Saudi leaders and also convene a broader meeting with counterparts from five Arab states – Qatar, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan – "to discuss the potential governance of the Gaza Strip following the conclusion of the war," a senior State Department official said.
Blinken will also engage with Saudi authorities to discuss efforts toward a normalization agreement between the Kingdom and "Israel". This deal reportedly encompasses Washington providing Riyadh with agreements on bilateral defense and security commitments, as well as nuclear cooperation.
Following his visit to Riyadh, Blinken will travel to Jordan and "Israel", where the emphasis of the trip will reportedly "shift toward initiatives aimed at addressing the severe humanitarian crisis in Gaza."
In a related context, Blinken emphasized the critical need for a ceasefire as the most effective means to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Speaking on the aid situation, he acknowledged "measurable progress" in recent weeks but stressed the necessity for further efforts.
He highlighted the importance of "deconfliction" and claimed that humanitarian aid would be a primary focus in the days ahead.
On his part, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne stated on Monday that discussions regarding a ceasefire in Gaza were advancing as he joined US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Saudi Arabia for "diplomatic efforts" amid the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
Sejourne is expected to engage in discussions in Riyadh with ministers from Arab and other Western countries, as well as Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
"Things are moving forward but you always have to be careful in these discussions and negotiations. The situation in Gaza is catastrophic and we need a ceasefire," Sejourne said as quoted by Reuters on the sidelines of a World Economic Forum meeting.
"We will discuss the hostages, the humanitarian situation, and the ceasefire. Things are progressing, but we must always remain prudent in these discussions and negotiations," he stressed.
On his part, Jordanian Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh emphasized the importance of all parties working toward a "two-state solution" to the struggle to prevent another catastrophe in the Middle East. He stressed the need for an irreversible pathway toward achieving this solution to avoid repeating the current situation and risking further tension in the region and global peace and security.
This is happening as the Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza continues unabated despite international protests and intellectual uprisings in US and European colleges. The number of Palestinians killed in Gaza due to the Israeli genocidal war, ongoing since October 7, has now reached 34,488, in addition to 77,643 injuries.
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