Via Barak Ravid in axios.com: The U.S. and Saudi Arabia are discussing a possible security agreement that wouldnt involve a broader deal with Israel, according to three sources with knowledge of the talks. The agreement wouldnt be the full defense treaty the U.S. and Saudi Arabia were discussing but Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) and the White House still want to reach a security agreement before President Biden leaves office in January. Saudi national security adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban visited the White House last week and met with his U.S. counterpart Jake Sullivan and with Biden advisers Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein, the sources said. The idea is to draft a bilateral U.S.-Saudi security agreement similar to those the Biden administration signed with other Gulf countries in recent years, which strengthened the U.S. position in the region, the source said.
