US and Saudi Arabia discuss security deal, separate to Israel normalisation

Saudi Arabia and the US could soon strike a landmark security deal, which would be separate from a push for normalisation with Israel, according to reports.

Saudi Arabia's National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban visited Washington last week where he reportedly spoke with his US counterpart Jake Sullivan along with leading US officials Brett McGurk and Amos Hochstein about closer cooperation on security and economic matters, Axios reported.

This would be separate from a reported "mega deal" between Riyadh and Washington, which would involve normalisation with Israel, a major defence treaty, and cooperation on Riyadh's civilian nuclear programme.

Saudi Arabia and the US are now reportedly rushing through a separate security agreement before Joe Biden leaves the White House in January, which MbS has previously said would is only possible under the Democrat president.

Previously, both countries had spoken of a "grand bargain" that would incorporate all points of contention between Riyadh, Washington, and Tel Aviv into one deal, allowing Saudi Arabia to pursue a civilian nuclear programme and acquire cutting-edge American military technology, in return for normalisation with Israel.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly insisted that this hinges on the eventual creation of an independent Palestinian state with the 7 October attacks and Israel's mass slaughter in Gaza putting movement toward normalisation on hold for now.

In the meantime, talks on a separate security deal have been pursued with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman saying in May that a "semi-final" agreement had been achieved.

Later, the White House confirmed that Washington and Riyadh were close to reaching a deal, which could pave the way for Saudi Arabia to obtain the cutting-edge F-35 strike aircraft, although this would likely rely on Israel approval due to long-standing agreement that US weapons sold in the region must not impair Israel's "qualitative military edge".

The US has been keen to bolster security ties with Gulf states in recent years, following the growing influence of China and Russia in the region.

Qatar, Bahrain and the UAE have also agreed on military treaties with the US in the past two years with Doha designated a "major non-NATO ally".