Prime Minister Netanyahu said “an important diplomatic conversation” was the reason he missed a political rally in Ashkelon Monday, March 15th. “We brought about agreements of peace for peace, and there are four more peace agreements on the way,” said Netanyahu regarding the possible normalization of ties with additional Arab states, stopping short of saying which countries were involved in talks with Israel.
Former US president Trump vowed to bring more regional partners to the negotiating table with Israel following normalization of ties with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan.
In a parallel development, i24NEWS reported last Thursday that Israel was engaged in talks with the kingdoms of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates on the establishment of a four-nation defense alliance.
The reported talks likely come in response to the "growing Iranian threat" in the region, specifically its budding nuclear program and expanding influence, as well as US President Biden's attempts to launch negotiations on a return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Former President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal in 2018, reimposing financial sanctions on Iran, which, in turn, has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal.
The White House said last week that the US has accepted Europe's offer to mediate conversations with Iran regarding the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iranian sources acknowledged they were looking into the European Union's proposal but have yet to provide a formal response.
Jerusalem does not have official diplomatic relations with Riyadh but the UAE and Bahrain signed a historic normalization deal with Israel in September, 2020 known as the US-brokered Abraham Accords.