(IsraelNN.com) The German news magazine Der Spiegel has reported that Saudi Arabia is hoping Israel will strike Iran’s nuclear facilities, and is even prepared to open its skies to Israeli warplanes to allow such an operation to take place. Similar reports were published in 2009, and denied by both Israel and Saudi Arabia.
The Der Spiegel report stated that officials in Riyadh had spoken to United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton about the importance of stopping Iran’s nuclear program, even if doing so requires the use of military force.
The London Sunday Times claimed in 2009 that Saudi Arabia would allow Israel to use its airspace to attack Iran. The paper quoted a former Israeli intelligence officer as saying, “The Saudis are very concerned about an Iranian nuclear bomb, even more than the Israelis.”
Der Spiegel writer Bernhard Zand stated this week, “These days, the Arabs fear the terrorists of al-Qaeda and Iran’s leadership, with its rabid rhetoric and nuclear program, as much as the Israelis do. Never before since the time of Israel’s creation were Jews and Arabs as united as they are in the face of the Iranian threat.”
Zand accused Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu of failing to take advantage of Israel’s newfound common ground with the Arab world.
Iranian media dismissed the Der Spiegal report. “Der Spiegel is greatly influenced by the Israeli regime and has previously published reports that were meant to serve as an Israeli propaganda campaign or psychological warfare against the Islamic Republic,” accused Iran’s Press TV.
The fear of terrorist takeovers of their governments and of Iran’s weaponization is the reason several Arab regimes, such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt, do not protest with U.S. military offensives against al-Kaeda and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan and Iraq, even though they are not part of the CENTCOM coalition that fights alongside the U.S.. These regimes are worried that the U.S. response to Iran will be too little and too late, according to a JINSA (the American based Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs) analysis of the issue this week.
This is merely Sunni Saudi Arabia exploiting a common enemy against Shiite Iran. Since the Sunni/Shia split within Islam centuries ago, Saudi Arabia has been the cneter of the world’s Sunni Muslims while Iran has been the center of the Shiite Muslim community.
Its a lot like the difference that existed between the Soviet Union and the PRC. They both had a common enemy in the capitalist west, yet had no love for each other. Even today, China and Russia are wary of the other’s motives in trade and diplomacy.
The bottom line here is that Saudi Arabia is no more an ally of Israel so much as the Saudis are willing to use Israel’s armed forces against a common enemy. Should Israel turn their back on the PA and hthe allies of the PA, Saudi and other Muslim forces will probably swoop down on Israel like vultures.
Has any western leader noticed that Saudi Arabia is currently the number one country in the world for arms spending as a percnetage of their GDP?
They are doing so for a reason, not just for “fun”.
I fear for Israel and also southern Europe, now that Islam has a foothold in Europe with Kosovo. They are in a direct line of fire from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Libya and Egypt. That is a heck of a lot of firepower on the underbelly of Europe.
The bottom line here is that Saudi Arabia is no more an ally of Israel so much as the Saudis are willing to use Israel’s armed forces against a common enemy. Should Israel turn their back on the PA and hthe allies of the PA, Saudi and other Muslim forces will probably swoop down on Israel like vultures.
You’re absolutely right… The oddest thing about this issue, however, is that the Saudis’ reason for allowing Israel to do that notwithstanding, this places them in a less hostile position towards the Jewish State when it comes to attacking Iran than those of Buraq Hussein Osama (who recently ordered a shipment of bunker-busting bombs bought by Israel not to be delivered) and National (in)Security Advisor to Dhimmi Carter Zigzigbigbdigbignew Brzezisnki (who suggested that American armed forces should shot down IDF planes on their way to an attack against Arabdinejadistan.)