BICOM

Hezbollah’s leader sharply and publicly condemned Saudi Arabia over the weekend for forging closer ties with Israel.

Hassan Nasrallah spoke live on television and took aim at the Arab League’s apparent softening stance on Israel, saying that “these days Israel is [no longer] officially considered the Arab League’s enemy, while Palestine has become an obligatory burden”. He alleged that “Saudi Arabia has taken advantage of the ailing Arab situation, only to build relations with Israel” and that such “free normalisation” will “open the doors to other states than Saudi Arabia to follow suit”.

In particular, Nasrallah chastised Saudi Arabia for “taking its relationship with Israel from a clandestine connection to a public one”.

He referred specifically to a rare visit last week to Israel by a delegation of Saudi Arabian academic and business leaders, headed by former General Anwar Majed Eshki. Although he holds no official office, Eshki is considered to be close to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman and is a former ambassador to the United States. He met with the Director General of Israel’s Foreign Ministry Dore Gold, Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories Maj-Gen Yoav Mordechai and several Knesset members.

Although Saudi Arabia and Israel do not have any established diplomatic relations, the two countries and other Gulf states share similar concerns over Iran’s regional ambitions. Their growing relations are clearly a concern to Nasrallah and by extension to Iran, which sponsors Hezbollah. Saudi Arabia and Iran are the two most powerful Muslim countries in the region and are considered to be vying for regional supremacy.

Meanwhile, Iran’s Fars news agency reported yesterday that senior Iranian and Russian defence officials met yesterday to discuss growing defence ties. Iran’s Brig. Gen. Vali Madani met with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and is quoted saying that “Iran and Russia have the needed capacities to broaden their mutual cooperation in the defence field”.

He added: “Iran’s armed forces have good relations with Russia.”