opinion
Preserving the Abraham Accords as
the US Lowers its Regional Profi le
Meir Ben-Shabbat
16 MARCH 16, 2023 | JEWISH EXPONENT
Tuna salmon / AdobeStock
S audi Arabia can’t
rely on the United
States to guaran-
tee its security. That, put
simply, is the message
the Saudis sent with their decision to renew
diplomatic ties with Tehran.

The Biden administration’s declining
attentiveness to the Middle East, its Iran
policy and the arrogance Washington has
displayed toward its allies in the region have
all pushed Riyadh to formulate an alternative
insurance policy under China’s umbrella,
while at the same time tightening relations
with Moscow. This development symbolizes
yet another stage in the weakening of the
U.S. in the region and the strengthening of
the counter-axis led by China with partial
Russian support.

Even the White House’s most ardent
supporters of a “diplomatic approach” will
struggle to deny the extent of its failure
thus far when it comes to Iran, as well as
the high price the U.S. is paying as a result.

Under Biden’s watch, the ayatollahs have come to
feel immune. Iran is racing forward with its military
nuclear eff orts, continuing with subversive actions
and maintaining an aggressive policy through terror-
ist and militia proxies operated by the IRGC.

Poking a fi gurative middle fi nger in the eyes of
the Americans, Tehran is supplying suicide drones
to Russia to help with its war against Ukraine and
tightening military cooperation with Moscow. Iran is
also preparing to spread its tentacles to other arenas
such as Latin America and northwest Africa, where
it hopes to stoke the confl ict between Algeria and
Morocco. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
has contemptuously rejected the outstretched arm
of Washington and its partners, who have tried to
revive the “nuclear deal.” Iran’s self-confi dence has
been boosted and it has taken full advantage of the
naivete of the West and the West’s lack of enthusi-
asm for grabbing the Persian bull by its horns.

The indiff erence displayed by the White House
in the face of these developments, and the way it
treated Saudi Arabia and its Gulf partners, as if they
were in its pocket, shortened the path between
Beijing and Riyadh. Washington’s pallid response to
front and its involvement in the war in
Ukraine. From Israel’s perspective, the
Iranian threat remains as it was and
thus there is no room for Israel to
change its approach and demands.

Israel did the right thing by repeating
over and again that its commitment to
defend itself against a nuclear Iran is
not dependent on external factors.

Given the statement by the Chinese
last month regarding their support for
a resumption of negotiations on the
nuclear deal, the possibility that the
talks could return to the international
agenda either publicly or behind the
scenes should be taken into account.

Israel, for its part, should continue to
push the U.S. to declare the “death”
of the Iran deal and put a credible
military option on the table.

With regard to possible normaliza-
tion between Israel and Saudi Arabia,
it would seem that the chances have
declined in the wake of the Tehran-
Riyadh rapprochement, but Israel
should not cease its eff orts on this
front. It is possible that the Saudis will see progress
on normalization as a means of spreading its risk
and a balancing act vis-a-vis the United States and
Israel. Moreover, the ties that have been built up will
be maintained for any opportunity that may spring up
further down the road.

Israel should discuss with the U.S. a series of
immediate measures to be taken, among them the
urgent need for the White House to invest resources
in maintaining the Abraham Accords and ensuring
the American and Israeli status in the region. This
includes supporting Egypt, completing the peace
deal with Sudan, recognition of Moroccan sover-
eignty in the western Sahara and bringing more
countries into the normalization circle.

The lesson from these developments is crystal
clear: There is no such thing as a diplomatic vacuum.

When the U.S. is not actively present, it gives up its
place to other forces. 1
Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s cries for help on the eve of
the Russian invasion of his country didn’t help either.

It was against this backdrop and with the encourage-
ment of China, which spotted an opportunity to fi ll
the vacuum left by the downsizing of the American
footprint in the area, that a path was paved for Saudi
Arabia to renew ties with Iran.

“The end of American hegemony in the region,”
was how Khamenei’s military advisor termed the
renewal of ties between Riyadh and Tehran. The
Lebanese Al-Mayadeen TV channel, with great satis-
faction, crowned the U.S. and Israel as the big losers
from the move and China as the big winner. China
will now be able to penetrate the Arab and Muslim
world through the gates of both Iran and Saudi
Arabia. These forecasts should not be dismissed, but
neither should they be seen as prophecies. The
hostility between Saudi Arabia and Iran is rooted
in religion and ethnicity, and these factors will not
disappear as a result of one agreement or the other.

Moreover, the U.S. and the West can still infl uence
the picture, especially in view of the legitimization
that Iran continues to provide for them to intervene
through its provocative behavior on the nuclear
Meir Ben-Shabbat served as Israel’s national security
adviser and head of the National Security Council
between 2017 and 2021. He is head of the Institute
for Zionist Strategy & National Security in Jerusalem.

This originally was published by Israel Hayom.




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‘Boy Meets World’ Star Ben Savage Runs to Succeed Rep. Adam Schiff
Ben Savage, the Jewish actor best known for the 1990s coming-of-age series “Boy
Meets World,” is running to replace Adam Schiff , the Jewish Democratic congress-
man from California who is running for Senate, JTA.org reported.

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Four Israelis Inherit Corneas of Brothers Killed in Terror Attack
The corneas of two Israeli brothers killed in Samaria on Feb. 26 were trans-
planted into the eyes of four Israelis at Beilinson Medical Center in Petach Tikvah
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On Feb. 26, a terrorist opened fi re on Hallel and Yagal Yaniv as they sat in traffi c
in the Arab village of Huwara in Samaria. They were evacuated to a hospital, where
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