Though US President Joe Biden sent Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Riyadh on June 6 in a bid to repair his country’s deteriorating ties with America’s once close ally in the region, but Saudi Prince has remained non-committal
It is difficult to state whether the dictum that a good general should know how to retreat applies in diplomacy, but in geo-politics it has recently been tried. The US President Joe Biden sent his Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Riyadh on June six, maybe, in a bid to repair his country’s estranged ties with America’s close ally in the region, Saudi Arabia.
It appears that the visit was planned in such a rush that Blinken reached the Saudi capital on the same day Iran’s embassy was opened in Riyadh, perhaps, much against the wishes of Washington. The friendly ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and if some détente is worked out with Israel, the presence of the American army in the region becomes irrelevant. The CIA and Pentagon may congratulate themselves that the region may still need American security umbrella, because the present Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, has unleashed confrontational policies towards Palestine, and secondly, Iran has opened its diplomatic office, but Saudi Arabia is yet to honour its commitment for reciprocation made two months ago in Beijing.
Earlier, on March 10, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic ties seven years after the breakdown of their diplomatic relations. The peace deal, facilitated by China, also included the implementation of a security cooperation agreement signed in 2001 and a 1998 pact to enhance cooperation on trade, investment, technology, and culture. The two countries were in a state of war against each other for the past several years, particularly regarding the issues related to Syria and Yemen. The Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who had hosted the high power delegations from the two countries, led by Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran and the Saudi National Security Advisor Musaad bin Mohammed al Aiban, appreciated their ‘sincerity for peace’.
The policy makers did not take into account the visit of Chinese President, Xi Jinping, in December 2022. During his visit, he had visited the Gulf countries, where he had met 14 Arab leaders. In February, 2023, he had hosted Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi. Saudi Arabia is yet to appoint an ambassador or announce a date for its embassy to reopen in Iran, Americans may hope that the Saudis back out from their agreement, but this expectation is too far-fetched.
