In this photo released by Nournews, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, right, China’s most senior diplomat Wang Yi, center, and Saudi Arabia’s National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban looks on during an agreement signing ceremony between Iran and Saudi Arabia to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions between the Mideast rivals, in Beijing, China, Friday, March 10, 2023.InternationalIndiaAfricaTEL AVIV (Sputnik) – Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Friday that the resumption of diplomatic relations between Tehran and Riyadh was a failure of the Israeli government’s foreign policy, as it deprived Israel of its regional defense barrier from the alleged Iranian threat. Earlier in the day, Iran and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement mediated by China to resume relations broken off in 2016, as well as open embassies and representative offices within two months.
"The agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran reflects the complete and dangerous failure of the Israeli government's foreign policy," Lapid said, as quoted by Israeli media.
The Israeli opposition leader reportedly added that the deal stripped Israel of its regional defensive wall against the Iranian threat. In February, the new Israeli government intensified talks with Saudi Arabia on strengthening military and intelligence links, citing a threat allegedly posed by Iran.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in particular, said then that the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia would “launch a historic change in Israel’s position in the Middle East,” while linking this goal to deterring Iran’s nuclear program. He also stated that “the Arab world recognizes the primacy of the Iranian threat,” which had allegedly moved many Arab countries closer to Israel.
WorldNetanyahu Links Possible Normalization With Saudi Arabia to Iran ‘Deterrence’20 February, 09:49 GMTNews broke earlier Friday that Iran and Saudi Arabia had agreed to resume relations and reopen embassies within the next two months. The historic agreement came after several days’ worth of negotiations that were facilitated by China.