Transcript [00:00] Well, Saudi Arabia is coming under [00:02] growing attack from the Iranbacked [00:04] Houthis out of Yemen. And now we're [00:06] learning that Israel may be quietly [00:08] helping Riad respond. A regional [00:10] diplomat has told i24 News that Israel [00:12] and Saudi Arabia are in dialogue [00:15] facilitated by US Central Command that's [00:18] focused on providing the Saudis with [00:21] intelligence support against the [00:22] Houthis. And this comes as missile and [00:25] drone attacks from the rebel group [00:26] triggered alerts in the holy city of [00:28] Mecca along with five other Saudi cities [00:31] today. Riad is now vowing a firm [00:34] response. And with the Houthis gaining [00:35] ground along the Red Sea, this could [00:38] mark a significant new level of security [00:41] coordination between Israel and Saudi [00:43] Arabia. Well, joining us now is our [00:46] senior Middle East correspondent, Ariel [00:48] Osan. So Ariel, what can you tell us so [00:50] far about this alleged coordination [00:52] between Saudi Arabia and Israel? What [00:54] kind of help does Saudi Arabia need? [00:56] >> Yeah, so this is based on reporting from [01:00] Stein from our sister Hebrew channel [01:02] saying that through the mediation of [01:05] Sentcom, Israel and Saudi Arabia have [01:08] been conducting some sort of dialogue [01:11] >> with regards to how can Saudi Arabia [01:14] best treat this threat by the Houthies. [01:17] Now we can remember that uh Saudi Cran [01:19] Prince Muhammad bin Salman met with [01:21] Admiral Bradley Cooper the commander of [01:23] Sentcom and it is understand [01:27] we understand that these messages were [01:29] relayed through uh Admiral Cooper. Now [01:33] this uh diplomatic source that Stein [01:35] basis is reporting on says that the [01:38] meeting between NBS and Cooper was a [01:40] positive one indicating that there was [01:43] uh some sort of uh we can say positivity [01:47] in Riyad in receiving these or [01:49] exchanging these messages with Israel. [01:52] >> What could this mean for the future of [01:54] relations between both countries? [01:56] Obviously, we're going to be talking [01:57] about the anniversary, the sixth [01:59] anniversary of the Abraham Accords, uh, [02:01] you know, later on in the show. Uh, but [02:04] obviously, if there is this type of [02:05] coordination between Saudi Arabia and [02:07] Israel, what could we expect to change [02:09] and perhaps public relations? [02:11] >> Yeah, look, Natasha, this isn't the [02:12] first time that we've heard of [02:16] dialogue, exchange of messages, even [02:18] cooperation between Israel and Saudi [02:20] Arabia regarding the wide array of [02:22] threats that are in the region. all of [02:25] them emanating from the Islamic Republic [02:27] of Iran. So this isn't a gamecher, but [02:30] what this does show is that when Saudi [02:33] Arabia's [02:35] list of friends is not, you know, [02:38] stepping up to the plate, you know, you [02:40] have the Mecca Accords with Pakistan, [02:44] Turkey, they're not lifting a finger to [02:46] help Saudi Arabia. Now MBS is in Cairo [02:49] today. He met with President Cece. The [02:52] Egyptian president agreed with bin [02:54] Salman that the secure navigation [02:59] through the waterway in the Babin Mandab [03:02] strait needs to be maintained, he fell [03:04] short of vowing to support uh Saudi [03:08] Arabia. And so when you have a defense [03:10] pact which a mu with a mutual defense [03:12] clause and those partners aren't aren't [03:16] you know participating or uh executing [03:19] their commitments under the accords it [03:22] is very unlikely that in any other [03:24] country will do so but with this [03:27] relation with Israel with this dialogue [03:29] with Israel I think this shows one thing [03:31] that um rapidly there's an understanding [03:35] among many Gulf countries that Israel [03:38] isn't the source of instability in the [03:40] region. It is Iran. And rather than [03:43] condemning and accusing Israel at every [03:45] turn of its uh defense posturing, maybe [03:50] it is time to cooperate with Israel [03:54] against this biggest threat in the [03:56] region rather than to dance around in [03:58] circles. [03:59] >> Right? The question is whether or not [04:00] this kind of uh you could say secret [04:03] understanding is going to one day become [04:05] something public. Maybe one day. But the [04:07] Saudis are very clear about their price. [04:09] That is a [04:12] a probable path, a credible path to [04:14] Palestinian statethood. That isn't [04:16] likely going to change. But maybe if [04:19] this cooperation with Israel does [04:21] materialize and bear fruit, they might [04:23] find ways to massage the messaging [04:26] publicly, right?
