T. Belman. This report is too negative for me. No mention is made of Israel’s reaction to the Saudi attempt to gain more from negotiations. I would imagine that SA and Israel are also talking. The effect of a Houthi victory in Yemen is to put hostile Iranian forces on Saudi Arabia’s border just like Hezbollah is on Israel’s borders. There is no way that Iran will abandon attempts to get the bomb nor will Israel let them succeed. So to my mind SA will achieve nothing of value from their current talks.
As Biden strides towards a nuclear deal, an anxious, diminished and increasingly isolated Saudi kingdom faces a grim outlook – and negotiation with the Iranian enemy, through gritted teeth, appears the only way out
By James Snell, HAARETZ

Houthi soldiers march during a funeral procession for Houthi fighters killed in recent fighting against government forces in Marib province, in Sanaa, Yemen. February 17, 2021.Credit: KHALED ABDULLAH/ REUTERS
There’s no need to be surprised by reports that envoys from Saudi Arabia and Iran have been negotiating in secret in Baghdad. Nor by the fact that the negotiations have been vigorously denied. Nor that the Saudi crown prince now has uncommonly constructive things to say (and on the record) about his country’s possible future relationship with Iran.
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