BICOM

It was reported yesterday that representatives from Israel and Saudi Arabia have met in secret talks since the start of 2014, focusing on the threat posed by a nuclear Iran.

During an event at Council on Foreign Relations in Washington yesterday, Israel’s former-UN Ambassador Dore Gold, who was recently appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to head Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shared the stage with Anwar Majed Eshki, a retired Saudi general and ex-adviser to Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi ambassador to the US.

Eshki outlined Iran’s history of regional aggression and support for terror, presenting a seven-point plan for the region, including regime change in Tehran. Gold also warned of Iran’s regional ambitions and indicated warming ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia. He said, “Our standing today on this stage does not mean we have resolved all the differences that our countries have shared over the years … But our hope is we will be able to address them fully in the years ahead.”

Bloomberg reports that five meetings have taken place between Israeli and Saudi representatives over the last 17 months, in Czech Republic, India and Italy. It quotes one of the participants in the talks, retired Israeli general Shimon Shapira, saying, “We discovered we have the same problems and same challenges and some of the same answers.” Israeli leaders have repeatedly warned that the nascent nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 powers (US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) currently under discussion will further empower Iran. Gulf leaders, including those from Saudi Arabia have expressed similar concerns and last month were hosted by US President Barack Obama to discuss them further.

Last week, Netanyahu backed the overall principle behind the regional Arab Peace Initiative, which was first presented by Saudi Arabia’s late King Abdullah in 2002. On several occasions in recent months, Netanyahu has said that a wider rapprochement with the Arab world could lead to Israeli-Palestinian peace. Last year, Israel’s former-Head of Military Intelligence, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Yadlin appeared with Prince Turki bin Faisal of Saudi Arabia on a panel hosted by the German Marshall Fund.