US Nat Sec Advisor Sullivan Postpones Saudi Trip After Injury

The White House has confirmed that National Security advisor Jake Sullivan's planned trip to Saudi Arabia for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been postponed as sullivan is recovering from a cracked rib caused by a minor accident. Axios first reported on 1 April that Sullivan would be travelling for talks with MBS as part of a 'mega-deal' that would include the normalisation of relations between Saudi and Israel.

• Any such deal would require action from all three actors. Saudi Arabia would be required to formally recognise the state of Israel. The US would likely be tied into a joint defence agreement with Riyadh and also required to back a civilian nuclear energy programme. Israel would have to commit to a path towards a two-state solution.
• As Axios notes, "Netanyahu would then face a choice: If he agrees, he could broke a historic peace deal with Saudi Arabia. If he says no, he could be exposed as a rejectionist and lose whatever U.S. support he still has left." The killing of seven humanitarian aid workers by Israeli Defence Forces on 1 April has caused a significant backlashfrom Israel's allies at a time when rhetoric towards the military actions in Gaza was already hardening. Should a normalisation deal come to the table, Netanyahu may not be in a position to reject such a measure without further risking relations with close allies, namely the US.