JERUSALEM • Saudi Arabia has denied Israeli media reports of landmark talks between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and its Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a visit by United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
"I have seen press reports about a purported meeting between HRH the Crown Prince and Israeli officials during the recent visit by @SecPompeo," the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, said in a tweet.
"No such meeting occurred. The only officials present were American and Saudi."
Earlier, Israel's Army Radio and Kan Radio both reported that Mr Netanyahu had secretly flown on Sunday to the Saudi Red Sea town of Neom for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed and Mr Pompeo amid a diplomatic flurry prompted by regional fears of Iran.
Ultra-conservative Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, has traditionally championed the Palestinian cause and shunned all official contacts with Israel. But the kingdom, its Gulf allies and Israel have a shared deep distrust of Iran.
News of the meeting came a day after Mr Netanyahu, in an apparent message to US President-elect Joe Biden, said in a speech that there should be no return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal abandoned by President Donald Trump.
Education Minister Yoav Galant, a member of Mr Netanyahu's security Cabinet, yesterday described the Saudi meeting as an "amazing achievement".
"The very fact the meeting happened, and was outed publicly, even if half-officially right now, is a matter of great importance," he told Army Radio.
As Mr Trump's term winds down, Mr Pompeo has been trying to coax Saudi Arabia, the Gulf powerhouse, to follow its neighbours, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, in establishing formal diplomatic relations with Israel.
As well as wanting to contain Iran, Mr Trump and Mr Pompeo are also concerned about a possible review of US policies in the region by the incoming Biden administration.
Mr Biden, who takes office on Jan 20, has said he would rejoin the nuclear accord that world powers signed with Iran if it first resumed strict compliance with the deal, and would work with allies to strengthen the terms.
The Israeli media reports said Mr Netanyahu was joined on the trip by spy agency Mossad's director Yossi Cohen, who has spearheaded discreet diplomatic outreach to Gulf Arab states.
Riyadh has so far declined to normalise ties with Israel. But since August, it has allowed Israeli airliners to overfly Saudi territory to newly available Gulf destinations and Asia.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
