White House: Saudi-Israel Normalisation Discussions Ongoing

White House NSC spokesperson John Kirby has confirmed that, "Saudi-Israel normalization discussions," are "ongoing," but no framework has been agreed to.

• Kirby: "There is no agreed to set of negotiations, there's no agreed to framework to codify normalization or any of the other security considerations that we and our friends have in the region."
• The comments follow a market moving report from the Wall Street Journal earlier today which claimed US and Saudi negotiations had reached "broad terms" for a normalisation deal.
• Axios reports that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has approached the Biden administration for a security agreement "focused on deterring Iran," as part of a normalisation deal which may track closely with a deal Washington is considering with Riyadh.
• According to Axios, Saudi Arabia requested guarantees similar to "a NATO-style Article 5 commitment," a request which the White House declined but incstead agreed to discuss a so-called "article 4.5" commitment... "short of the Saudi expectations but would still be significant..."
• Axios reports: "Netanyahu and Dermer want something similar and think that in a broader context of a U.S.-Saudi-Israel deal, such a security agreement will be easier to get."