MUST-READS

• U.S. and Saudi Arabia discuss security agreement separate from Israel mega-deal

  The U.S. and Saudi Arabia are discussing a possible security agreement that wouldn't involve a broader deal with Israel, according to three sources with knowledge of the talks. The agreement wouldn't be the full defense treaty the U.S. and Saudi Arabia were discussing but Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) and the White House still want to reach a security agreement before President Biden leaves office in January. Saudi national security adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban visited the White House last week and met with his U.S. counterpart Jake Sullivan and with Biden advisers Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein, the sources said. The idea is to draft a bilateral U.S.-Saudi security agreement similar to those the Biden administration signed with other Gulf countries in recent years, which strengthened the U.S. position in the region, the source said.

• U.S. feared Iran could hit Saudi oil fields

  Israel's strikes, by hitting military targets rather than industrial facilities, have — for now — prevented a wider war. That has been a key goal of President Biden and Secretary of State Tony Blinken since the Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.

• The U.S. Election and the Saudi Economy

  Given its central role in the global economy, what happens in the United States is of great importance to the rest of the world. Saudi Arabia is no exception given its close ties to the United States, central role in the global oil market, and long-standing exchange rate peg (along with the other Gulf Cooperation Council countries except Kuwait) to the U.S. dollar, which allows it to benefit from the credibility of U.S. monetary policy. Economic studies have highlighted that the health of the U.S. economy is an important determinant of Saudi economic growth.

• Blinken heads to the Middle East as U.S. looks to kick start Gaza ceasefire talks
  U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will depart for the Middle East on Monday, the State Department said, as Washington is pushing to kickstart ceasefire negotiations to end the Gaza war following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar. The top U.S. diplomat's latest trip to the region, his eleventh since the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas that triggered the Gaza war, comes even as Israel has intensified its military campaign in Gaza and in Lebanon against Iran-aligned militia Hezbollah.

• U.S. Central Command Conducts Multiple Strikes on Underground Iran-Backed Houthi Weapons Facilities

  U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces conducted multiple, precision airstrikes on numerous Iran-backed Houthi weapons storage facilities within Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen that contained various advanced conventional weapons used to target U.S. and international military and civilian vessels navigating international waters throughout the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. These actions were taken to degrade the Houthi's capability to continue their reckless and unlawful attacks on international commercial shipping and on U.S., coalition, and merchant personnel and vessels in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, and the Gulf of Aden, and to degrade their ability to threaten regional partners.

• Israeli siege plan for Gaza under scrutiny as U.S. demands urgent change

  The “General’s Plan” is being pushed by some members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government, despite pushback from the Israeli military, human rights groups and the White House. On Sunday, citing international and U.S. law, top Biden administration officials gave Israel a month to reverse course or risk losing American military assistance.

• New Saudi-U.S. Outfit WeirdBunch Launches With Aim to Make Marvel-Like Content With a Middle-East Flavor

  A new studio called WeirdBunch Entertainment, which aims to make Marvel-like content with a Middle-Eastern flavor, is being launched by a group of industry execs with offices in Saudi Arabia and Los Angeles. WeirdBunch brings together prominent Saudi puppeteer, producer and podcaster Ammar Al-Sabban, who worked on the Arabic adaptation of “Sesame Street”; Marvel comics writer B. Earl; Keith Fay, who is a former director of original series at Cartoon Network; and Saudi entrepreneur and financier Abdullah Al-Sabban.

• U.S. approves weapons sales to Saudi Arabia, UAE valued up to $2.2B

  The U.S. State Department approved the sale of billions of dollars in weapons to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two important allies against Iran as tensions rise in the Middle East. The Biden administration told Congress that it approved the sale of dozens of Hellfire and Sidewinder missiles to Saudi Arabia. The more than $1 billion sale also includes artillery, tank and machine gun ammunition.

• Kushner has discussed U.S.-Saudi diplomacy with Saudi crown prince
  Jared Kushner, son-in-law of former U.S. President Donald Trump, has discussed U.S.-Saudi diplomatic negotiations involving Israel with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman multiple times since leaving the Trump White House, said a source familiar with the discussions. The source did not identify when the talks took place and whether they occurred before or after the start of the Gaza conflict. But they included discussions on the process of normalizing relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, a key diplomatic objective of both the Biden and Trump administrations, the source said.

• Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait Not to Allow U.S. Airbases to Be Used Against Iran

  Urgent calls for de-escalation dominated the discussions, with regional leaders expressing fears that an extended conflict could jeopardize key oil installations. Although Iran has not directly threatened Gulf oil facilities, it has hinted that intervention from "Israel supporters" could lead to retaliation against their interests in the region. According to Saudi commentator Ali Shihabi, Gulf states believe an Iranian strike on their oil facilities is unlikely, but are cautious given the hints conveyed through unofficial channels.

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