Israeli official hails Saudi king’s stance on Iran, handling of economy
Israel's top intelligence official has expressed approval for Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud’s policy towards Iran and his administration’s recently-unveiled economic reforms aimed at reducing the kingdom’s reliance on oil.
Major-General Herzi Halevy, the chief of the Israeli Military Intelligence Directorate, applauded King Salman at an international forum in Herzliya in the occupied territories on Wednesday.
Halevy praised the Riyadh regime’s efforts to rally Arab states against Tehran, saying, "Saudi is much more proactive ... in the Middle East. It is the country that has perhaps taken the strongest stand in the face of Iran in the Middle East.”
Touching on the kingdom’s plans to overhaul its oil-dependent economy, the Israeli official also noted that the bottom line of the structural reforms “is to bring about a Saudi Arabia in 2030 with a different economy."
Saudi Arabia unveiled the economic plans in April amid the negative effects of tumbling oil prices on the economy of the biggest crude exporter in the world.
With much of its wealth dependent on oil revenues, the monarchy has been hardly hit by plunging oil prices, from $114 in June 2014 to currently some $49 a barrel of benchmark Brent crude.
Oil prices have fallen around 70 percent since mid-2014 due to oversupply, low demand and slowing economies.
Meanwhile, in a separate address to Wednesday’s forum, Director-General of Israel's Foreign Ministry Dore Gold confirmed that dialogue was underway between Tel Aviv and Arab countries, saying, "Under the ice, a lot of hot water is flowing.”
The remarks came two months after Anwar Eshki, a former general in the Saudi military, said the kingdom would open an embassy in Tel Aviv if Israel accepted the Saudi initiative to end the Middle East conflict.
Also in May, Israeli media reported that Saudi Arabia and its allies have asked Israel to resume Middle East negotiations under new terms which include changes to Riyadh's "peace" initiative.
Saudi Arabia first proposed the "peace" initiative in 2002, offering Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for Israel's withdrawal from the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
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