Saudi Arabia has reportedly signaled to senior U.S. officials that it is prepared to reopen discussions about joining the Abraham Accords, but only if Israel agrees to a series of significant political and policy changes that are widely viewed as unacceptable to the current government.

According to a report in Yisroel Hayom, Riyadh has conveyed messages in recent weeks to officials in the Trump administration indicating a renewed willingness to pursue normalization with Israel. However, sources familiar with the discussions said the Saudis have attached conditions that Israel’s present coalition is unlikely to accept.

Three individuals with knowledge of the diplomatic contacts said Saudi Arabia has been actively engaging with senior figures in Washington, including officials at the White House, the State Department, and members of Congress. One source said representatives of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman outlined two primary conditions: that Binyamin Netanyahu no longer serve as prime minister following Israel’s next elections, and that policies advanced by Finance Minister Betzalel Smotrich in Yehuda and Shomron over the past several years be reversed.

According to American officials cited in the report, Saudi Arabia views those two conditions as closely connected. Riyadh believes that as long as Netanyahu remains in office, he will continue backing Smotrich’s policies in Yehuda and Shomron, making it impossible to reach a normalization agreement under the current circumstances.

During the war, Saudi Arabia reportedly explored the possibility of formally recognizing Israel on several occasions in exchange for major Israeli concessions on the Palestinian issue. Among the demands discussed was a public declaration by Netanyahu expressing a willingness, in principle, to support the eventual establishment of a Palestinian state. Netanyahu rejected those conditions, and negotiations did not advance.

The report also noted that the late Sen. Lindsey Graham had been actively involved in recent years in efforts to strengthen ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia and to help pave the way toward normalization.

Sources familiar with the diplomatic efforts said many of Saudi Arabia’s demands are intended to move the political process forward rather than necessarily secure immediate results. They also claimed that Riyadh frustrated President Donald Trump during the war with Iran by blocking, according to those sources, a U.S.-backed initiative to open the Strait of Hormuz to safe commercial shipping for vessels not connected to Iran.

The same sources further alleged that Saudi Arabia’s refusal to allow American forces to use U.S. military bases on Saudi soil for operations against Iran also angered President Trump.

According to the report, Saudi Arabia’s latest diplomatic initiative is intended in part to demonstrate to Trump that the kingdom remains a critical strategic partner for the United States while also advancing a political arrangement aimed at preventing another military confrontation between the U.S. and Iran.

{Matzav.com}