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  • U.S. sees some progress in Iran de-escalation efforts

    With the prisoner deal announced earlier this month, reports that Iran has significantly slowed its accumulation of 60% higher enriched uranium, the de-facto extension of the Yemen truce going on 18 months and broader Iranian-Saudi rapprochement, and the absence of a repeat of deadly tit-for-tat clashes between U.S. and Iranian proxy forces that killed a U.S. contractor in Syria in March, the United States sees some signs of an easing of tensions with Iran and broader regional de-escalation which it supports, a U.S. official familiar with indirect talks with Iran said in an interview Friday (Aug. 18).

  • Obstacles From All Sides Face a U.S.-Saudi Arabia-Israel Grand Bargain

    However, Saudi Arabia has made it clear in recent years that it will not normalize relations with Israel absent some significant, but unspecified, movement by the Israelis to bolster prospects for a two-state solution, such as strengthening the Palestinian Authority and expanding areas under its control, limiting settlement activity, or committing not to annex any additional occupied Palestinian lands. But such steps may be extremely difficult for the United States and Saudi Arabia to secure from the current Israeli government.

  • U.S. Reaches Deal With Iran to Free Americans for Jailed Iranians and Funds

    Five American detainees will eventually be allowed to leave Iran in exchange for Tehran gaining access to $6 billion for humanitarian purposes and the United States freeing several jailed Iranians.

  • Israel, U.S. Sound Worlds Apart on Palestinian Component of Saudi Deal

    In an interview with Bloomberg earlier this week, Netanyahu dismissed the notion that the Palestinian issue would significantly hinder Israel’s efforts to normalize ties with the Saudis. “It’s sort of a checkbox,” Netanyahu told Bloomberg. “You have to check it to say you’re doing it. Is that what’s being said in corridors? Is that what’s being said in discreet negotiations? The answer is a lot less than you think.”

  • As U.S. pushes for Saudi-Israel normalization, major hurdles remain

    But serious obstacles stand in the way of any prospective deal. Hanegbi made clear that Israel was not prepared to make meaningful concessions on the issue of Palestinian statehood, long assumed to be a precondition of a regional rapprochement. And Riyadh is seeking significant security guarantees from Washington, which could risk further entangling the United States in Middle Eastern conflicts.

  • Netanyahu wants security agreement from Biden as part of mega U.S.-Saudi-Israel deal

    Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to get a security agreement with the U.S. focused on deterring Iran in the context of the mega-deal the Biden administration is trying to reach with Saudi Arabia and Israel, four Israeli and U.S. officials told Axios.

  • U.S. rebuts reports of preliminary deal to advance Saudi-Israel normalization

    “Quite frankly, just to be blunt here, I think the reporting has left some people with the impression that the discussions are farther along and closer to some sense of certainty than they actually are,” the NSC’s John Kirby told journalists on a virtual gaggle today (Aug. 9). “The bottom line is: there’s no agreed to set of negotiations, there’s no agreed-to framework, to codify normalization or any of the other security considerations that we and our friends have in the region,” Kirby said.

  • U.S., Iraq Examine New Strategic Relationship

    The secretary said the relationship is changing as Iraqi forces grow more capable and confident. "The joint security cooperation dialogue reflects our maturing strategic partnership building on the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Dialogue in July 2021 when the U.S. forces with a combat role, ended their mission," he said. This meeting looks beyond the defeat of the Islamic State and is an outgrowth of a visit Austin made to Baghdad in March. "We are interested in an enduring defense relationship within a strategic partnership," said Dana Stroul, deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East, during an interview last week.

  • U.S.-Saudi Deal Sets Path to Normalize Kingdom’s Ties With Israel

    Mohammed has given conflicting messages about his commitment to different audiences. U.S. officials working on the issue say that Mohammed is serious about trying to broker a deal. But the crown prince has told aides that he is not ready to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel similar to those with the United Arab Emirates, which signed a deal in 2020, according to Saudi officials.

  • U.S.-Saudi Deal Sets Path to Normalize Kingdom’s Ties With Israel

    U.S. and Saudi Arabia have agreed on the broad contours of a deal for Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel in exchange for concessions to the Palestinians, U.S. security guarantees and civilian nuclear help, according to U.S. officials. U.S. officials expressed cautious optimism that, in the next nine-to-12 months, they can hammer out the finer details of what would be the most momentous Middle East peace deal in a generation. But they warn that they face long odds.