Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Monday, November 4, 2024
From the Liveblog of
Monday, November 4, 2024
US, Saudi Arabia in talks for smaller security deal that doesn’t include Israel normalization
Top US and Saudi officials held talks last week in Washington about a possible security agreement that does not include Riyadh normalizing ties with Israel, the Axios news site reports.
Normalization has been all but shelved during the ongoing Gaza war and Israel’s refusal to establish a diplomatic horizon for a future Palestinian state.
But the US and Saudi Arabia are still looking at signing a smaller security deal that falls short of the defense pact initially sought by Riyadh.
Last week, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said Riyadh could potentially move “quite quickly” on some bilateral agreements with Washington even if a mega-deal involving normalization with Israel remains out of reach.
