On the occasion of consecutive visits by high-ranking US officials and the country's "further approach to China," Saudi Arabia | high-ranking official
According to Reuters on June 2nd, the United States has made two high-level visits to Saudi Arabia within a month, hoping to stabilize relations with the country after years of differences and deepening distrust.
According to the report, the US State Department said that following the visit of Jack Sullivan, the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs, to Saudi Arabia on May 7, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken will also meet with officials of the world's largest oil exporter next week.
Although no breakthrough is expected, analysts said that the purpose of Antony Blinken's trip includes, to some extent, restoring the influence of oil prices on Riyadh, countering the influence of China and Russia, and paving the way for the eventual normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
The report pointed out that two long-term changes aggravated the challenges faced by Antony Blinken.
Firstly, the long-term pillar of US Saudi relations - the US providing security in exchange for Saudi Arabia's stable oil supply - has disappeared.
The United States has become the world's largest oil producing country, no longer relying on Saudi Arabia's crude oil as it did in the 1970s.
Secondly, with China's rise, the country has become Saudi Arabia's largest import and export trading partner, and the so-called "return" to Asia policy of the United States has led Riyadh to place two bets on geopolitics.
According to the report, Professor Gregory Gauss from Texas A&M University in the United States said, "During the Cold War, major strategic initiatives of the United States could basically receive support from Saudi Arabia. At the end of the Cold War, Saudi Arabia did not have many options."
He said, "Now they have a choice. The unipolar era of the United States is coming to an end, and Saudi Arabia is aware of this. They are starting to consider other options."
![On the occasion of consecutive visits by high-ranking US officials and the country's "further approach to China," Saudi Arabia | high-ranking official](https://a5qu.com/upload/images/12c80c9955fb83f222db575bc92bffc0.jpg)
The announcement of the resumption of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran after secret talks in Beijing in March this year is a sign of changes in Saudi Arabia's relationship with the United States.
▲ Information image: On April 6th, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdullah Heyyan shook hands with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal during their meeting in Beijing.
The report also stated that the United States is unlikely to achieve a goal in the short term: to persuade Riyadh to join Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, and to normalize relations with Israel through the 2020 Abraham Accord. US Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs, Barbara Lev, recently refuted Israeli media's "excessive reporting" on this possibility.
In addition, it was reported on the website of Iran International Television on June 3 that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Saudi Arabia next week coincided with Riyadh's shift in its foreign policy to move closer to Beijing and ease relations with Iran.
It is reported that while the United States announced the news of Antony Blinken's visit, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal Ben Farhan met with Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdullahian during the BRICS Conference in South Africa and promised to visit Tehran soon.
Saudi Arabia's decision to resume diplomatic relations with Iran in March this year, bidding farewell to seven years of hostility, marks a significant shift in Riyadh's foreign policy, especially since the agreement was reached in Beijing through China's mediation.
The subsequent developments in other regions further indicate Saudi Arabia's transformation, as it believes it can take independent action, according to the report. In May of this year, Riyadh invited Syrian President Bashar al Assad to attend the Arab League summit to help him repair relations in Arab countries. Bashar is a close ally of Iran.
The report points out that perhaps equally important is that Saudi Arabia's close ally, the United Arab Emirates, announced on May 31 that it has withdrawn from the US led Middle East Maritime Security Alliance. The Joint Maritime Force is a task force consisting of over 30 countries, headquartered at the United States Naval Base in Bahrain, responsible for security, counter-terrorism, and combating piracy in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf regions.