Saudi Arabia Warms Up to Iran

Beijing and Tehran have seized on US Democrats’ neuroses about an ally, says the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal.

ohammed bin Salman bumps fists with Joe Biden in Jeddah last July. Picture: AFP

We’re old enough to remember a time — roughly three years ago — when diplomatic breakthroughs in the Middle East meant good news for the US.

Not so with Friday’s thawing relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which shows the cost of President Joe Biden’s hostility to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as MBS.

Riyadh and Tehran are restoring diplomatic ties after cutting them in 2016. The deal, which was brokered by China, isn’t an alliance.

Its near-term practical effect is likely to be limited to the reopening of embassies. But the symbolic import is hard to miss as Democrats in Washington do everything they can to harass and annoy the Saudis.

Biden came into office promising to isolate the Saudis, especially the young, reformist leader MBS. The US cut off support for the Saudi-backed war against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. It toyed with ending arms sales to the kingdom, and it sought to revive the Iranian nuclear deal the Saudis oppose as a threat to their security.

Worried about US support, MBS hedged his security bets.

He has courted China and flirted with selling oil in yuan, rather than US dollars, and he has sought better relations with Russia. Now the Sunni Arab kingdom is seeking a detente with its Shia Persian neighbours.

A genuine peace would be good for the region, but Iran’s support for terrorism and Shia militias in Arab nations suggests its promises are suspect.

Biden tried to mend relations with a visit to Riyadh that included the famous fist bump with MBS. But the Saudis don’t trust the Biden administration or congressional Democrats, who threatened retaliation when the Saudis refused to increase oil production last year.

The kingdom isn’t a democracy, but compared to Iran it’s Switzerland. Instead of alienating the Saudis, the Biden Administration could be working to persuade the kingdom to join the Arab nations opening relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords.

The Journal reports that Riyadh’s conditions for joining the accords might include US security guarantees and support for a civilian nuclear program.

The former is worth considering, since the US would probably defend the kingdom if it were attacked without formal guarantees. Assurances that the Iran nuclear deal is dead and that the US won’t let Tehran acquire a nuclear weapon would also help.

Biden prides himself on his ability to build alliances, but he muffed it with the Saudis and our adversaries are taking advantage.

The Wall Street Journal