Former envoy to US: Netanyahu ‘unwilling to pay the price’ for Saudi normalization
PM’s aide Dermer reportedly meets Trump in Washington for discussions on Iran ahead of fresh nuclear talks and Gaza, where IDF is set to launch major op
Former Israeli ambassador to the United States Mike Herzog, who served until January, on Friday accused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of missing opportunities for a normalization deal with Saudi Arabia, including a few months ago.
Addressing news that US President Donald Trump was no longer conditioning a landmark nuclear pact with Riyadh on the latter recognizing the Jewish state, Herzog told the Kan public broadcaster that “since Israel is planning to widen the operation in Gaza, normalization is getting farther away.”
“I think Israel should make [normalization] a very high priority. I don’t think Netanyahu doesn’t want it, but he probably isn’t willing to pay the price. I think it’s a missed opportunity,” Herzog said, though he added that past opportunities were missed due to multiple factors.
Under former US president Joe Biden, civil nuclear cooperation talks were an element of a wider US-Saudi deal tied to normalization and Riyadh’s goal of a defense treaty with Washington.
The kingdom has repeatedly said it would not recognize Israel without a guarantee of a viable path to a Palestinian state, frustrating Biden administration attempts to expand the Abraham Accords signed during Trump’s first term. Under those accords, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco normalized relations with Israel.
Progress toward Saudi recognition of Israel has been halted by fury in Arab countries over the war raging in Gaza. The nuclear talks had also stumbled over Washington’s non-proliferation concerns.
Dermer said to hold meeting with Trump on Iran talks, Gaza war
Meanwhile, Trump met Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer on Thursday and discussed the nuclear talks with Iran and Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, Axios reported Friday.
The Thursday meeting was held at the White House and was not made public by the US or Israel, with the report citing two sources briefed on the meeting. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed that the two had a “private meeting.”
Separately, Dermer met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday and had several meetings in the White House, including the one with Trump on Thursday, the report said.
Thursday’s meeting was also reportedly attended by Vice President JD Vance, Rubio and US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
Dermer was in Washington for meetings with senior US officials ahead of Trump’s upcoming visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates next week.
The US president is not planning on visiting Israel.
Dermer’s discussions came after the security cabinet earlier this week approved a plan for the Israel Defense Forces to gradually reoccupy the entire Gaza Strip and hold on to the territory indefinitely.
Israel is waiting to launch the operation until after Trump wraps up his trip, hoping that Hamas can be coaxed into releasing additional hostages while the US president is in the region.
The terror group has offered to release all remaining 59 captives, but is demanding a permanent end to the war in exchange, something that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refuses, as it would leave Hamas in power.
Meanwhile, a fourth round of US nuclear talks with Iran is likely to take place over the weekend in Oman, with Iranian state media pointing to May 11 as a probable date.
Witkoff also said Washington was trying to hold the next round of talks this weekend, according to Axios. A source familiar with the matter told Reuters Witkoff was going to Oman for the next round of Iran talks.
Washington’s desired outcome for the talks is unclear, with some officials in the Trump administration saying they are prepared to allow Iran to have limited nuclear fuel enrichment capabilities, while others have said that they want the nuclear program completely destroyed.
Iranian officials have asserted that they will never dismantle their nuclear centrifuges, while Israel, which Iran has sworn to destroy, has vowed it will never allow Tehran to have nuclear weapons.
Trump has threatened to bomb Iran if no agreement is reached to resolve the long-standing dispute. While Tehran has said it is committed to diplomacy with Washington, it has also warned against any attack on its soil.
Tehran insists that its atomic program is solely for civilian purposes, but it has ramped up its enrichment of uranium to 60 percent purity, which has no peaceful application, and has obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities.
The Times of Israel Community.