Tiran and Sanafir islands a concession aimed at normalizing Israel-Saudi relations: Expert
Highlighting the issue of Tiran and Sanafir islands isn’t the main issue because the main issue is normalizing Israel-Saudi Arabia relations, an expert on Africa said.
Commenting on the role of Israel in the case of transferring the ownership of Tiran and Sanafir islands from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, Jafar Ghanadbashi told ILNA that “There is a behind-the-scene trade-off involving Egypt, Israel, and Saudi Arabia. And we witness American mediation in this regard.”
Riyadh claims that Tiran and Sanafir islands must return to Saudi Arabia so that they can portray it as a political conquest and use it internally, he said.
“In the meantime, Biden and Israel have concluded that now is the best time to get concessions from Saudi Arabia because on the one hand, the king of the country is ailing and the Saudi crown prince is seeking to assume power,” he added.
Underlining that Israel and the U.S. seek to normalize relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia through handing over the Tiran and Sanafir islands, he said that “if normalization of ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia relations takes place, the political and military equations of the region will undoubtedly change.”