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This article is a joke, it claims that expansion of normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia is threatened by strikes against Iran by Israel. But the basis

This article is a joke, it claims that expansion of normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia is threatened by strikes against Iran by Israel. But the basis of the Israel-Saudi agreement is anti-Iranian. The Saudis would love Israel for attacking Iran more aggressively, effectively doing their dirty work.

jaboutboul 4y ago
They both have a very strongly vested interest (as does the rest of the world) in not seeing a nuclear Iran. I remember seeing somewhere that Saudi Arabia has also started their own nuclear program, or at least is looking into it.
- andy_ppp 4y ago
  They have basically said if Iran gets them they will get them too. This is the whole reason why you don’t want nuclear proliferation, it will be terrible if Iran gets them because so many other countries will also get them. The more countries that have them the more chance for both accidents and terrorism. It’s a small miracle one hasn’t gone off so far given some of the countries that have them!
- nirav72 4y ago
  Most likely the Saudis will just either outright buy nukes from Pakistan or purchase Pakistani expertise in building their own nuclear weapons program.
  - nl 4y ago
    This is true. It's widely believed there is an existing agreement that makes this possible. From 2013[1]: > Earlier this year, a senior Nato decision maker told me that he had seen intelligence reporting that nuclear weapons made in Pakistan on behalf of Saudi Arabia are now sitting ready for delivery. > Last month Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, told a conference in Sweden that if Iran got the bomb, "the Saudis will not wait one month. They already paid for the bomb, they will go to Pakistan and bring what they need to bring." Saudi Arabia funded the Pakistan nuclear program back in the 1970s[2]. [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-24823846 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-24823846 [2] https://www.arabnews.com/node/2069831 https://www.arabnews.com/node/2069831 "This was the time when Saudi Arabia opened its doors to Pakistani workers and provided financial aid to the Bhutto regime in order to thwart India’s nuclear ambitions."
nl 4y ago
This undersells the nuanced point that the article is making. It's true that the Saudi's want Israeli attacks on Iran to continue. But the article points out (to quote): "Israel’s new leadership is the most extreme right-wing government in its history and has already taken steps that have increased violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians, which puts Arab leaders who have embraced normalization in a difficult position given the widespread popular opposition to Israeli policies." Israel's policy towards Palestinians is already problematic for other Arab states interested in normalizing relations. Overt strikes on another Muslim country like Iran - even one that is broadly an enemy - doesn't breed popular support. The politics here are very complex and the article does a pretty good job explaining them. It's very far from "a joke" since there are many more trade offs here than simply "oh the Saudi's don't like Iran either".

jaboutboul 4y ago

They both have a very strongly vested interest (as does the rest of the world) in not seeing a nuclear Iran. I remember seeing somewhere that Saudi Arabia has also started their own nuclear program, or at least is looking into it.

andy_ppp 4y ago
They have basically said if Iran gets them they will get them too. This is the whole reason why you don’t want nuclear proliferation, it will be terrible if Iran gets them because so many other countries will also get them. The more countries that have them the more chance for both accidents and terrorism. It’s a small miracle one hasn’t gone off so far given some of the countries that have them!
nirav72 4y ago
Most likely the Saudis will just either outright buy nukes from Pakistan or purchase Pakistani expertise in building their own nuclear weapons program.
- nl 4y ago
  This is true. It's widely believed there is an existing agreement that makes this possible. From 2013[1]: > Earlier this year, a senior Nato decision maker told me that he had seen intelligence reporting that nuclear weapons made in Pakistan on behalf of Saudi Arabia are now sitting ready for delivery. > Last month Amos Yadlin, a former head of Israeli military intelligence, told a conference in Sweden that if Iran got the bomb, "the Saudis will not wait one month. They already paid for the bomb, they will go to Pakistan and bring what they need to bring." Saudi Arabia funded the Pakistan nuclear program back in the 1970s[2]. [1] https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-24823846 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-24823846 [2] https://www.arabnews.com/node/2069831 https://www.arabnews.com/node/2069831 "This was the time when Saudi Arabia opened its doors to Pakistani workers and provided financial aid to the Bhutto regime in order to thwart India’s nuclear ambitions."

nl 4y ago

This undersells the nuanced point that the article is making. It's true that the Saudi's want Israeli attacks on Iran to continue. But the article points out (to quote): "Israel’s new leadership is the most extreme right-wing government in its history and has already taken steps that have increased violence between the Israelis and the Palestinians, which puts Arab leaders who have embraced normalization in a difficult position given the widespread popular opposition to Israeli policies." Israel's policy towards Palestinians is already problematic for other Arab states interested in normalizing relations. Overt strikes on another Muslim country like Iran - even one that is broadly an enemy - doesn't breed popular support. The politics here are very complex and the article does a pretty good job explaining them. It's very far from "a joke" since there are many more trade offs here than simply "oh the Saudi's don't like Iran either".