Israeli-Saudi meeting on cooperation regarding Iran

A high-ranking Israeli-Saudi meeting took place on Thursday in Washington, where representatives of both countries attended an activity organised by the Council on Foreign Relations think tank, the Times of Israel reported.

Nominated Israeli Foreign Ministry Director-General Dore Gold met with the former Saudi government adviser Anwar Eshki. Both shared a stage and shook hands, the Israeli newspaper said, and they discussed the Israeli and Saudi conflicts with Iran.

Eshki spoke about the Iranian expansion plans in the region and stressed that there is a need for a joint Arabic force to face Iran’s plans; stating that peace with Israel, based on the Saudi peace initiative, provides a guarantee of stability in the region.

Meanwhile, Gold, the current head of the Jerusalem Centre for Public Affairs think tank, also spoke about the challenge posed by Iran and warned of a weak nuclear accord with Tehran which would leave the Islamic Republic as a nuclear threshold state.

“Our standing today on this stage does not mean we have resolved all the differences that our countries have shared over the years,” Gold said, according to Bloomberg News. “But our hope is we will be able to address them fully in the years ahead.”

Bloomberg News said that Israel and Saudi Arabia have held five secret meetings within the past 17 months.