In the interview, which took place prior to the recent violence in the Gaza Strip, the Crown Prince has stressed the need to assure peace and stability and normalize relations. Bin Salman has told the Atlantic that Saudi Arabia had no “problem with Jews” and shared “a lot of interests with Israel,” underscoring that both Israeli and Palestinians are entitled to their own land.
“I believe that each people, anywhere, have a right to live in their peaceful nation. I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have their own land. But we have to have a peace agreement to assure the stability for everyone and to have normal relations,” he said.
READ MORE: Money Talks: Israel, Saudi Arabia Held Secret Meeting in Cairo — Reports
In December 2017, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told the France 24 broadcaster that Riyadh has devised a “roadmap,” the Arab peace initiative, to establish “normal” ties with Tel Aviv.
"Our position on Jerusalem has always been very clear. We believe in a two-state solution based on the relevant UN resolutions and the Arab peace initiative. We believe that in the end, we will have a Palestinian state in the '67 [1967] borders… with east Jerusalem as its capital. This has been our position, this remains our position," he said.
While Riyadh has no diplomatic ties with Tel Aviv, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once admitted that the country had “fruitful cooperation with Arab countries” that it kept generally secret. According to Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz, Israel has had secret contacts with a range of Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, with the IDF Chief of Staff suggesting sharing intelligence with Riyadh to resist Iran.
Iran
Having included Iran in the so-called “triangle of evil,” along with the Muslim Brotherhood and terror groups like Daesh*, bin Salman has once again lashed out at his bête noir, the supreme leader of Iran Ali Khamenei, reiterating his “Hitler” remark.
“I believe that the Iranian supreme leader makes Hitler look good. Hitler didn’t do what the supreme leader is trying to do. Hitler tried to conquer Europe. […] But the supreme leader is trying to conquer the world. […] He is the Hitler of the Middle East. In the 1920s and 1930s, no one saw Hitler as a danger. Only a few people. Until it happened. We don’t want to see what happened in Europe happen in the Middle East,” the Crown Prince said, when the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief, Jeffrey Goldberg, argued that Hitler was “the worst thing you can be.”
READ MORE: Iran Slams Saudi Prince's Allegations of Tehran Sponsoring Terrorism
In November 2017, the Crown Prince told The New York Times that Iran’s supreme leader was “the new Hitler of the Middle East,” and dismissed the strategy of appeasement, used against the Nazi leader in Europe.
"[Iran's] supreme leader is the new Hitler of the Middle East. But we've learned from Europe that appeasement doesn't work. We don't want the new Hitler in Iran to repeat what happened in Europe in the Middle East,” he said.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal last week, the Crown Prince warned of a possible war with Iran in 10-15 years, urging the international community to impose more stringent sanctions against Tehran to avoid a military confrontation.
The two major powers in the Middle East have been longtime rivals for dominance in the region, supporting opposite sides in the conflicts in Yemen and Syria. The relations between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic have further deteriorated following the Yemeni Houthi rebels’ missile launch targeting Riyadh, with the latter blaming Tehran for providing the insurgents with weapons. Iranian authorities have consistently denied the allegations.
Yemen
When Goldberg asked whether the kingdom’s military interference in Yemen is exacerbating the situation in the country, bin Salman elaborated that the Saudi campaign was aimed at bringing stability and “helping the legitimate government” after the 2015 coup d’état.
“Saudi Arabia is trying to help the people of Yemen. […] What I want to say here, to make it simple, is that sometimes in the Middle East you don’t have good decisions and bad decisions. Sometimes you have bad decisions and worse decisions. Sometimes we have to choose the bad option,” he added, saying that he wanted to be asked about Riyadh’s economy, partnerships and investment, not Yemen.
Since 2015, the Saudi-led coalition, supporting the Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi has been carrying out airstrikes against the Houthi rebels at Hadi’s request. According to the Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights, 600,000 civilians have died or sustained injuries over past three years as a result of Saudi-led indiscriminate airstrikes.
*Daesh, also known as ISIL/ISIS/IS, a terrorist group banned in Russia and many other countries
