Israeli think tanks: Tehran, Riyadh good relations bad for 'Israel'

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeent Net + Agencies
9 Jun 2023 15:21

The managing director of INSS says Iranian agreements in the region have counterweighted a series of agreements signed by "Israel" and regional members.

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan meeting in China, Beijing, in March 2023 (AFP)

The "Institute for National Security Studies" (INSS) and the Moshe Dayan Center at "Tel Aviv" University held a special conference on Saudi Arabia and the countries of the region in late May, during which officials, security experts, and politicians from both institutes and abroad participated in touching upon regional developments through the Israeli occupation lense.

The conference, which was planned four months ago, discussed "diplomacy to reduce tension and communicate with everyone, Syria returning to the Arab League, China playing an important mediating role, and a new map that is taking shape for the Middle East."

Also on the agenda was what was called the "Saudi-Israeli-American triangle" and the different characteristics and dynamics of each side.

"The goal of the conference is to present an accurate picture of the transformations in the Middle East, and to influence the (Israeli) government's policies to reach a better place," the think tanks said.

Former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen, who was a keynote speaker at the conference, expressed optimism about the chances of reaching a normalization agreement between “Israel” and Saudi Arabia. “Is Saudi Arabia’s normalization with Israel possible? based on my assessment, it definitely is possible," he said.

Cohen considered that "if communications were handled in a correct manner, and with Washington's guarantees - including verbal commitments [to Saudis] regarding the Palestinians [Palestinian cause] - but certainly without turning them into a practical policy - it is possible."

On his part, Professor Uzi Rabi, director of the Dayan Center for Middle East Studies, said, "Saudi Arabia today is in a completely new situation, and does not know how to act without American support."

Concerning Iran, the managing director of the INSS and former head of the entity's Military Intelligence Directorate - Aman, said, "Iran is improving its regional position, and the series of agreements it signed constitutes a counterweight to the series of agreements that we made. Hence, we find that Iran's political isolation does not work."

Maj. Gen. (res.) Tamir Hayman warned that "Iran's relations with China and Russia, in light of the global competition and the regional transformation it has made as part of the 'good neighbor' strategy (with Saudi Arabia), is not a positive thing for us [Israelis]."