MBS, Jordan king discuss Mideast de-escalation

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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Jordan’s King Abdullah II held talks on Tuesday on efforts to halt fighting in Gaza and Lebanon, the Saudi foreign ministry said.

The pair held discussions “related to the security and stability of the region, including efforts made to stop the ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon and reduce escalation,” the ministry said in a statement as the Jordanian ruler visited the Saudi capital Riyadh.

The meeting between the two Arab leaders comes amid a US diplomatic push through the region as conflict rages with Israel in both Gaza and Lebanon.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due in Jordan on Wednesday to discuss humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian territory following Tuesday meetings in Israel aimed at progress towards an elusive truce in Gaza.

The royal palace in Jordan said the Saudi and Jordanian leaders emphasised “the need to intensify efforts for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon, and to reduce the escalation in the region”.

Saudi Arabia’s official SPA news agency said the two leaders had also voiced their support for the Palestinian and Lebanese people and “would continue to provide humanitarian aid to alleviate their suffering”.

On Monday, US envoy to Lebanon Amos Hochstein said Washington was seeking an end to the war in Lebanon “as soon as possible” as he pushed for a ceasefire in Beirut.

After over a year of conflict against Hamas in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, Israel shifted its focus to Hezbollah in Lebanon in September, ramping up strikes on the group’s strongholds around the country and sending in ground troops at the end of last month.

Iran, S. Arabia plan exercises

Iran and Saudi Arabia are planning to conduct joint military exercises in the Red Sea, according to an Iranian report not confirmed by Riyadh, in what would be a first for the regional heavyweights.

The two Middle East rivals, which have long bac­ked opposing sides in con­flict zones across the region, severed diplomatic ties in 2016. However Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed relations last year under a surprise China-brokered deal.

“Saudi Arabia has asked that we organise joint exercises in the Red Sea,” the commander of Iran’s navy, Admiral Shahram Irani, was quoted as saying by the Iranian news agency ISNA.

Published in Dawn, October 23th, 2024