Bloomberg reports that Israel and Saudi Arabia have been meeting in secret to discuss Iran. In a report on June 4, 2015, Bloomberg writes that the two countries have now revealed their recent diplomatic efforts at a meeting of the Council of Foreign Relations in Washington on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia does not recognize Israel as a legitimate state, and yet the two countries appear to have common ground in their relations with Iran.
According to Bloomberg the two countries have participated in five bilateral meetings over the last 17 months in India, Italy and the Czech Republic
Israeli media report that the meeting took place with only a few weeks left for Iran and the 5+1 to reach a final deal in the nuclear negotiations.
Anwar Majed Eshki, a retired Saudi general and former adviser to Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the former Saudi ambassador to the U.S., and Dore Gold, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations who is set to be next director general of Israel’s foreign ministry, headed their respective delegations and gave speeches at the council.
The report adds that Jacques Neriah, from the Israeli delegation, announced that the two countries have “issued a joint statement about the threat of Iran in the region”.
