Israeli Arab affairs expert Dr. Mordechai Kedar spoke with Arutz Sheva about the recent troubling report of the resumption of diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Kedar, a retired lecturer in the Arabic department at Bar-Ilan University and a research fellow at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, said: “The story began years ago with the progressive distancing of the US from Saudi Arabia, which is perceived by the Saudis as an American knife in the back.”

“It began in 2015 with the signing of the nuclear agreement by Obama. The Saudis saw this as a betrayal. In 2018, there was the Khashoggi story and the US almost severed relations with Saudi Arabia. The Saudis don’t think that relations between countries should be based on a private case of human rights – as severe as it was.”

“In 2019, when the Iranians attacked the Saudi oil industry and destroyed about half of Saudi Arabia’s oil export facilities, paralyzing about half of Saudi oil export capacity for months, the world and the US did nothing. Trump did nothing, apart from condemning it.”

Dr. Kedar continued by placing blame on President Biden for attempting to return to the 2015 nuclear agreement, another US betrayal. “When you betray Bedouins, they don’t forgive you even if it’s at their expense,” he said.

Dr. Kedar believes that Saudi Arabia’s move to restore ties with Iran was part of the theory that “if you can’t beat them, then join them.”

“They understand that the US and Western Europe are falling, especially in the wake of what’s happening in Ukraine. The coalition of Russia, Iran, China, Venezuela, and others is the winning coalition in the world against the American-Israeli-Western European coalition that is retreating.”

Dr. Kedar also referred to the ongoing left-wing protests in Israel. “The balagan that has been going on in Israel for two months now gives it a very weak image. If Israel was once seen as a strong body that could be relied on, especially against Iran, now we hear that a pilots’ revolt can ground entire squadrons and they realize that Israel might be a paper tiger.”

“As long as our image and that of the US and Europe continues to deteriorate, the bond between Saudi Arabia and Iran will tighten,” he warned.

In answer to Arutz Sheva‘s question whether the renewed ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia means that the possibility of Israeli-Saudi ties no longer exists, Dr. Kedar responded that he believes that Iran conditioned its agreement with Saudi Arabia on the loosening of ties with Israel. “In my opinion, this is what went on behind the scenes, even if it wasn’t published.”

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)