Published date: 8 March 2021 11:49 UTC | Last update: 1 week 5 days ago
Decades of US intervention and a regional arms race have seen the Middle East embroiled in endless crises. This approach needs to end
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (AFP)
Chaos and insecurity continue to ravage the Middle East region. Saudi Arabia launched strikes against the Yemeni capital Sanaa this weekend as missiles and drones fired by Yemen s Houthi forces targeted the heart of Saudi Arabia s oil industry on Sunday. Last month an explosion hit an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf of Oman.
US President Joe Biden ordered air strikes against facilities in Syria allegedly used by Iranian-backed militia forces, claiming retaliation for a missile attack on a US base in Iraq’s Erbil, which killed a contractor and wounded a soldier.
Saturday, 27 February, 2021 - 06:00
American and Saudi national flags fly over a main road in Riyadh in 2017. (AFP file photo) Riyadh – Asharq Al-Awsat
The ties between Saudi Arabia and the United States were underscored during a telephone call between Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and US President Joe Biden on Thursday.
Their talks highlighted Saudi emphasis on the need to preserve the security of the region and deter all acts that may destabilize it.
The telephone call underlines that importance of the joint strategic alliance between the Kingdom and Washington that dates back 80 years.
King Salman and Biden stressed the importance of these relations and their impact on the Arab world. Biden expressed to the monarch Washington’s keenness on strengthening the bonds of friendship and bolstering relations between their countries.
(Bloomberg Opinion) The U.S. and Iran appear poised to resume diplomacy, with a view to reviving the multilateral nuclear deal scrapped in 2018 by President Donald Trump.
An opportunity for a new beginning between Saudi Arabia and Iran has been presented by Joe Biden’s presidency, which may put an end to the years-long enmity.