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  • Saudi crown prince, US national security adviser meet on bilateral deal

    Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met to discuss an almost 'finalized' draft of a deal between Washington and Riyadh, the Saudi state news agency reported on Sunday.
    The meeting in the Saudi city of Dhahran reviewed "the semi-final version of the draft strategic agreements between the two countries, which are almost being finalised," a statement read.

  • Saudi Arabia’s 60-Year Battle for Food Security

    For over half a century, food security has been a strategic issue for Saudi Arabia. More recently, the 2008 food price crisis and the 2020 food supply disruptions gave Saudi decision makers a taste of what the future might look like in a climate-changing world, as two of the most salient issues will be access to drinking water and food – essential resources the kingdom sorely lacks. With 90% of its land unfit for agriculture and 70% of its water coming from desalination plants, water and food security can look like an unwinnable battle for Saudi Arabia.

  • US nears decision point on security deal with Saudis

    The Biden administration is nearing a decision point on whether go ahead with a bilateral arms and security agreement with Saudi Arabia or hold off in hopes of eventually pairing it with a long-sought trilateral deal to normalize Saudi-Israeli relations. For now, administration officials say nothing can go forward until all the parts of the puzzle are in place, but with the Israel-Hamas war standing in the way of a normalization agreement, some analysts are arguing for an early bilateral deal that would help check Chinese influence in the region.

  • Israeli strike on Lebanon kills four Hezbollah fighters, security sources say

    An Israeli air strike on a car in southern Lebanon killed four people on Thursday, according to Lebanon’s civil defense, with security sources saying those killed were members of armed group Hezbollah. The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel has rumbled on since October in parallel to the Gaza war, with an escalation this week as both sides intensified their bombardment, fueling concern of a bigger war between the heavily-armed adversaries.

  • US National Security Adviser Insists on No Saudi Defense Pact Without Israel Normalization

    Jake Sullivan, who serves as President Joe Biden’s top national security aide, told the UK-based Financial Times that the materializing deal currently being discussed with Saudi Arabia centers on a “bilateral understanding” between the US and the Gulf kingdom on defense issues as well as a nonnegotiable normalization process with Israel. Similarly, the deal would also center on a framework providing “meaningful steps on behalf of the Palestinian people,” he added.  

  • US and Saudi Arabia nearing agreement on security pact, sources say

    The Biden administration and Saudi Arabia are finalizing an agreement for U.S. security guarantees and civilian nuclear assistance, even as an Israel-Saudi normalization deal envisioned as part of a Middle East “grand bargain” remains elusive, according to seven people familiar with the matter.
    A working draft lays out principles and proposals aimed at putting back on track a U.S.-led effort to reshape the volatile region that was derailed by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the outbreak of war in Gaza, according to two sources who have seen the document.

  • Blinken, Saudi crown prince discuss achieving peace, security in Gaza, US says

    U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday in Riyadh, where they discussed the urgent need to reduce tensions in the region, the U.S. Department of State said in a statement.

  • Saudi Arabia ‘very, very close’ to US security pact tied to Palestinian state

    Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said on Monday that bilateral agreements with the United States were “very, very close” as Riyadh seeks to secure defense and security pacts with the kingdom in exchange for normalizing relations with Israel. "On the bilateral agreements between the kingdom and the US, we are very, very close, and most of the work has already been done. We have the broad outlines of what we think needs to happen on the Palestinian front,” the top Saudi diplomat said at a special meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh. He added that the only way such agreements would work is if there is “truly a pathway to a Palestinian state.” Read more: https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2024/04/saudi-arabia-very-very-close-us-security-pact-tied-palestinian-state#ixzz8Yt4mbYTZ

  • Prince Faisal: Saudi Arabia is more optimistic about regional stability and security

    Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that Saudi Arabia is more optimistic about the stability and security of the countries in the region. He said that the Kingdom’s vision pushes towards the development, reconstruction and stability of the region and not toward unrest. The minister made the remarks while speaking to Al-Arabiya/Al-Hadath on the sidelines of the first high-level EU-GCC Forum on Regional Security and Cooperation held in Luxembourg.

  • Saudi Arabia arrests over 20,000 violators of residency, labour and border security laws in a week

    The Saudi Ministry of Interior said that 20,667 individuals were arrested for residency, labour, and border security violations in a nationwide sweep from April 4 to 10.
    Of them, 14,805 have been arrested for residency violations, 3,860 for border breaches and 2,002 for labour violations.