CGTN
[..] The geopolitics in the Middle East transformed significantly in the past decade. The rise of Iran and the decline of Arab powers changed the landscape and led to closer ties between Israel and the Arab world. Talks and contacts between Israel and Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Bahrain became widely noticed. In the second half of 2020, the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco normalized their ties with Israel. Both Israel and the Gulf Arab states share their concerns and worries towards Iran’s regional influence, and Iran’s rising power becomes a major driving force for the formation of a regional alliance between Israel and some Gulf Arab states.
Another driving force for forming the alliance is the U.S.’s Middle East policy. Joe Biden’s Middle East policies have led to worries and dissatisfaction from Israel and some Gulf Arab states. They perceive Biden’s hope to contact Iran and lift sanctions against the country imposed by the former Trump administration as U.S. concessions to Iran.
Meanwhile, Washington’s criticism over Saudi Arabia’s and the UAE’s intervention in Yemen’s civil war and investigations of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman’s role in Jamal Khashoggi’s death in 2018 provoked worries from the two countries. Therefore, there’s a stronger desire of Israel and the Gulf Arab states to form an alliance.
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