Saudi Arabia will permit Israeli flights to the UAE to fly over its airspace, Israeli media reported today (Monday, Nov 30).
Issues arose when Saudi Arabia unexpectedly blocked Israeli flights to Dubai above its airspace following the normalization agreement with the Gulf kingdom.
According to reports, the American administration contacted the Saudis to resolve the issue and that it may have arisen as a result of bureaucratic misunderstanding or Riyadh's frustration over Israel's possible role in the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh last Friday.
It was reported yesterday that a senior US delegation, headed by President Donald Trump’s adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner, left for a round of talks in the Middle East on Sunday.
Kushner, along with the US Special Envoy to the Middle East Avi Berkowitz and Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook, visit Saudi Arabia and Qatar and meet with local leaders.
Kushner will try to persuade the heads of the country to promote normalization of relations with Israel, prior to President-elect Joe Biden taking over the reigns at the White House.
In recent days, there have been several reports that Saudi Arabia does not intend to advance a peace agreement with Israel in the foreseeable future.
Another major issue that will be at the center of the meetings of the American delegation will be the Iranian nuclear program. Saudi Arabia is concerned about the possibility of an Iranian response to the elimination of senior Iranian nuclear scientist Moshen Fakhrizadeh last Friday, that could target them in some way as well, and wants to know how the Americans intend to act in the face of the threat.
Last week, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu secretly met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in an attempt to promote the warming of relations between the countries, with hopes of a peace deal in the near future.