On Friday, July 15, 2022, Saudi Arabia ended its long-standing prohibition on Israeli planes overflying its territory by opening its airspace to “all air carriers,” marking a significant step toward rapprochement between the two countries as President Joe Biden travels in the area.
Announcing “the decision to open the Kingdom’s airspace for all air carriers that meet the requirements of the Authority for overflying,” Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation issued a statement on Twitter hours before Vice President Biden is scheduled to make history by flying directly from Israel to the kingdom. The declaration builds on the strong but unofficial relationships that the once adversaries have forged in recent years as a result of their shared worries about Iran’s expanding influence in the region and is a small step toward normalizing relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
Biden applauds the Saudi decision.
According to Jake Sullivan, the White House’s national security advisor, U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday hailed Saudi Arabia’s decision to open its airspace to all commercial carriers, including flights to and from Israel.
The security and prosperity of the United States and the American people, as well as the security and prosperity of Israel, are dependent on a more connected, stable, and safe Middle East area, according to Mr. Sullivan.
Saudi Arabia has recently permitted aircraft between Israel and Gulf nations to pass via its airspace. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister at the time, allegedly travelled to Saudi Arabia in 2020 to meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Last week, a number of Israeli defence reporters paid a visit to the country and wrote news articles about their experience.
On the second day of a four-day trip to Israel and Saudi Arabia, Mr. Biden stated, “I continue to believe that diplomacy is the best approach to reach this objective.” His visit to the Middle East is his first as president.
Biden placed more emphasis on a diplomatic resolution than Lapid, who believed that Iran would only agree to give up its nuclear goals in response to a credible threat of attack.
Diplomacy is better
On Thursday, Mr. Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid stood side by side and vowed to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. However, they disagreed on how to get there.
Following a one-on-one discussion with the Israeli prime minister, Mr. Biden stated at a joint press conference that he still wants to give dialogue a shot. Moments ago, Mr. Lapid reiterated that Tehran’s nuclear goals cannot be stopped by words alone.
While Mr. Biden made it plain that he was losing patience with Iran, he expressed optimism that Iran might be convinced to recommit to an agreement that had been put on hold to stop it from developing nuclear weapons.
“They won’t be stopped by words, Mr. President. Diplomacy won’t work to stop them, according to Lapid. “The only thing that will deter Iran is the knowledge that the free world would use force if they continue to advance their nuclear programme.” Lapid said that despite his harsher language regarding Iran, he and Biden were on the same page.
He declared, “I don’t think there’s a light between us.” “We cannot let Iran to develop nuclear weapons.” “We will not, let me say it again, we will not let Iran to get a nuclear weapon,” added Biden. Ebrahim Raisi, the president of Iran, criticized the United States and “its regional allies” for fueling unrest in the area, according to state-run IRNA news agency.
