US joins Negev summit to ‘comfort’ Mideast allies: Israeli media

By Abdel Raouf Arnaout
JERUSALEM (AA) – Israeli and Arab foreign ministers convened in a rare summit hosted by Israel in the southern city of Negev.

The two-day summit brings together the top diplomats of Israel, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco and the United States.

Israeli media said the US participation in the summit aims at “comforting” and “reassuring” its Middle East allies on the Iranian nuclear deal.

However, Israeli analysts rule out that the six-party meeting will alter Washington’s resolve to reach a deal with Tehran on its nuclear program.

Analysts believe the US participation in the summit aims to reassure its Middle East allies that it will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.

The summit convenes as reports two weeks ago said that Washington was considering removing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) from the list of terrorist organizations in exchange for a public commitment from Tehran to “stop the escalation in the region.”

Meanwhile, Palestinians were notable absentees in the summit as they were not invited.

Message of ‘reassurance’
Aluf Benn of Haaretz website wrote that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's participation in the six-party meeting comes as a sign of "reassurance and comfort" to allies on Washington’s resolve to sign a nuclear deal with Iran.

Benn said the Middle East allies are worried that Iran has an upper hand in the nuclear talks amid its rapprochement with the West at the expense of America's traditional allies in the region: Israel and the Arab countries.

He said he does not expect the summit to end Israel’s “existential” concerns with regards to the Palestinians, noting the seasonal tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, especially during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Meanwhile, Kobe Michael, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies, told Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper that the absence of the Palestinians in the summit shows that they are being sidelined and that the international community's interest in them has long gone, especially since the beginning of the Russian war on Ukraine.

He said Arab countries are now convinced that the Palestinian issue has become a strategic burden rather than a strategic asset to them.

Manifold concerns
Amos Harel, an analyst with Haaretz, said the multiplicity of high-level meetings between regional leaders reflects a growing confusion in the face of a series of events: the Russian war of Ukraine, the impending nuclear agreement between Iran and western powers, and what appears to be the continued waning interest of the Americans in the Middle East.

He noted that US President Joe Biden has prioritized rallying the world to take punitive measures against Russia to force President Vladimir Putin to end war on Ukraine and at the same time is worried about China, US number one competitor.

This means Washington has “little time left to engage with Iran and the Middle East in great depth," Harel said, adding that Biden is keen to return to the nuclear agreement with Iran and is less concerned with the reservations and concerns expressed by US allies such as Saudi Arabia, Israel and the UAE.

Harel believes that beyond comforting its allies, the US participation in the summit has no clear goal and its calls for a united front against Iran remain far-fetched.

Oil prices
Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth said the summit is also expected to discuss energy and economic issues.

These concerns, Israeli media said, include tension between Washington, Cairo and Abu Dhabi regarding the continuation of the Russian war on Ukraine and the rise in wheat prices, and the possibility of increasing oil production by the UAE to lower global oil prices.

According to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, Russia and Ukraine are major global food producers and exporters.

Russia is the world’s largest exporter of wheat, and Ukraine is the fifth-largest. Together, they provide 19% of the world’s barley supply, 14% of wheat, and 4% of maize, making up more than one-third of global cereal exports.

Israeli media said Abu Dhabi is also unhappy with US lack of support against attack by Iran-aligned Houthi rebels, who escalated their drone and missile attacks on the UAE and Saudi Arabia in recent months.

*Writing by Ibrahim Mukhtar in Ankara