“Israel” volunteered to share its intelligence on Iran with Saudi Arabia. “Lt. Gen.” Gadi Eisenkot publicly made the proposal late last week when he spoke about the possibility for a “new international alliance in the region”, with “Energy Minister” Yuval Steinitz later admitting what most people had already known by now which is that “Israel” is coordinating with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states in order to “contain” Iran in the Mideast.
The two actors have a shared strategic interest in this regard, and that’s driving them closer to one another despite their seemingly contradictory identities as a “Jewish State” and a Wahhabi one. This convergence is beneficial to the US because Washington has always wanted to assemble a “Lead From Behind” coalition against Iran, and there’s no better chance for it to be created than now.
Read more: Riyadh-Tehran rivalry in Yemen: Where is it heading?
Saudi Arabia’s “Red Prince” Mohammed Bin Salman drained his country’s pro-American swamp a few weeks ago in an unprecedented power grab thinly disguised as an “anti-corruption” campaign, but he almost immediately afterwards took to trumpeting his anti-Iranian “credentials” in order to establish his “legitimacy” at home and abroad.
“Lt. Gen.” Gadi Eisenkot publicly made the proposal late last week when he spoke about the possibility for a “new international alliance in the region”.
As analyzed by retired Pakistani Brigadier Shaukat Qadir in his latest article for The Daily Times titled “China and the Mideast”, , the de-facto Saudi ruler needs to retain positive relations with his Kingdom’s American allies in order for Washington to agree to releasing some of the hundreds of billions of dollars that Riyadh seized from its corrupt royals, understanding that the bulk of it is most likely deposited in the US.
It, therefore, makes sense why the young leader has been over-embellishing his anti-Iranian stance, though part of it is undoubtedly genuine seeing as how he’s characteristically hot-blooded and prone to being guided in such a direction.
After all, lost amidst the talk about his rapid Machiavellian rise to power is the fact that none of it would have been possible without the loyal support of the Saudi security services that flawlessly pulled off the tactical aspects of the “anti-corruption” operation in capturing the country’s key figures.
Thus, one could reasonably argue that Mohammed Bin Salman is a partial figurehead for the military-intelligence faction of the Kingdom’s “deep state” that decided to back him as the only individual with any hope of weathering the country’s forthcoming generational and economic challenges.
Read more: The crackdown in Saudi Arabia: anti-corruption drive or ruthless power politics?
Returning to Saudi Arabia’s implicit anti-Iranian alliance with “Israel”, there’s a high likelihood that Riyadh will eventually normalize relations with Tel Aviv due to both the presumed prerequisites of the speculated Trump-Kushner Mideast peace plan and also the geostrategic-financial considerations of the $500 billion NEOM future city project near the Saudis’ quadrilateral border with “Israel”.
Saudi Arabia’s “Red Prince” Mohammed Bin Salman drained his country’s pro-American swamp a few weeks ago in an unprecedented power grab thinly disguised as an “anti-corruption” campaign.
Nevertheless, these two factors will probably be portrayed by both entities’ mass media outlets as an outcome – not a driving force – behind what Eisenkot referred to as the “new international alliance in the region”, which can help both actors save face before what could expectedly be assumed might soon be some very enraged elements of their population.
https://sputniknews.com/radio_context_countdown/201711241059392182-daesh-in-kashmir-cpec-name-change-israeli-saudi-intel-sharing/
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Andrew Korybko is a political analyst, journalist and a regular contributor to several online journals, as well as a member of the expert council for the Institute of Strategic Studies and Predictions at the People’s Friendship University of Russia. He specializes in Russian affairs and geopolitics, specifically the US strategy in Eurasia.The views expressed in this article are author’s own. It does not reflect Global Village Space Editorial policy.