Israeli Media: Pact with Gulf against Iran has Evaporated
"Israel Hayom" publishes an article venting on Israeli problems with Biden's undermining of the "regional defense pact" between "Israel" and Gulf states against Iran.
Officials in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi have taken to a new strategy in their foreign policies toward Iran, especially since US President Joe Biden entered the White House, according to an article in "Israel Hayom."
Saudi Arabia first began by launching negotiations with Iran in Baghdad, which was followed by the UAE opening dialogue with Iran as well, with former FM Anwar Gargash meeting with Iran's Deputy FM Ali Bagheri Kani.
Zero-Conflict?
As far as Syria goes, UAE officials decided to go "further than dialogue with Tehran". The UAE's foreign minister met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in a "highly publicized meeting."
Officials in the UAE, according to the author, are saying that this rapprochement is meant to "dislodge the rehabilitating Syrian regime from the tentacles of the Iranian octopus." Abu Dhabi is also stressing that it wants a zero-conflict policy in the region, which is why it's mending its relations with regional countries. This is why UAE Crown Prince Mohammad bin Zayed al-Nahyan met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in order "to sign a series of commercial, economic and diplomatic cooperation agreements."
However, it seems that this wasn't just about a zero-conflict foreign policy. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia are clarifying, as senior sources in Abu Dhabi told the Israeli news outlet, that the real main reason is that the coalition "that was formed with the encouragement of Trump and his administration, which was essentially an unofficial regional defense pact with American backing between Israel and the Gulf states...has evaporated."
The Problem with Biden
The policy shift of Gulf states toward Iran and Syria was sparked by Biden's agenda in the region. The Biden administration, according to "Israel Hayom," "has done everything to squander Trump's achievements in terms of normalization with Israel and to drive a wedge in the regional defense pact against the Iranian threat."
The US's allies do not feel a great deal of confidence in America. The concern was only increased by Washington's handling of the coup in Sudan. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan conducted the coup, expecting US support, which at the moment of truth did not materialize after al-Burhan expelled all forces that could undermine the power of the military council, according to the report.
Instead of supporting al-Burhan's steps to form a liberal government, the source mentioned by the report said the US forced him to release Hamdok and warned him of imposing severe sanctions if he did not comply, thus pressuring him to "accept the American dictate."
"If Sudan again finds itself in the midst of a coup in which the jihadist and radical Islamist groups come out on top, no one will be surprised if they throw the normalization deal with Israel into the dustbin of history," the official added.