Link: https://apnews.com/article/saudi-arabia-china-iran-boeing-biden-d1aad0d6aae71993d7bc7e6336006a72
Saudi Arabia, through a Chinese led deal, has started to re-establish peace talks in iran. Potentially hoping to end a long and fraught relationship that involved Arabia executing a high ranking priest of Iran and then Iranians storming the Saudi Arabian embassy. At the same time Saudi Arabia has also announced a contract to buy Boeing planes for the United states. This deal first raises the question of whether or not Saudi Arabian relationships with the Joe Biden administration are getting better as the current president has stated multiple anti Saudi Arabia sentiments the White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said of the U.S.-Saudi relationship.“We’re looking forward to trying to make sure that this strategic partnership really does in every possible way support our national security interests there in the region and around the world,” . so this could just be the US trying to get more involved in the middle east again as opposed to an actual partnership being built. This also shows China taking a rare leading role in the middle east, potentially a sign of things to come.
Well to get more into these deals and what they mean it first shows china stepping up in the middle eastern world. while china has obviously had dealing in the middle east before they usually aren’t as prominent as say the russians or americans so this is maybe a sign that china begin establishing itself more in the middle east. in regards to the peace talks with iran i personally doubt that total peace will be achieved due to the fact that these states are religious ones with arabia being sunni muslims while iran is shia which to a lot of americans probably means nothing but to muslims is a giant point of contention and when you’ve been fighting for this long an so many of died relationships very rarely become completely positive so while i think maybe they could stabilize and end their giant proxy war i doubt total peace is achieved. Moving to the US and Saudi Arabia is much like the previous thought I espoused i dont think this is a sign of peace or anything. The U.S has repeatedly said that saudi arabia will pay for things such as killing a journalist and helping russia and this isn’t something roma while ago this administration has said that so while this is a deal i’m more inclined to believe this is the us just trying to get involved in the middle east and continue saudi arabia dependence on them for weaponry while also messing with china
As to what this connects back to that we discussed in class I would say how flexible states are. Very rarely do two countries despise each other so heavily that no agreement of any kind whatsoever can be established. Iran and Saudi Arabia have left thousands dead between the two of them and ruined other countries in their proxy wars and here they are potentially bargaining for a peace agreement. The same thing goes for the US side as we’ve repeatedly said that Arabia will pay for stuff it’s done and here we are giving it planes. So I think it’s a good showcase for how states are not moral paragons and instead seek influence and if having a deal here and there with a country they have been hostile to before is what it takes then that’s what they’ll do. It’s a game of pros and cons, not absolutes.