INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
TEHRAN - Shireen Tahmaasb Hunter, a professor of political science at Georgetown University, says that the idea of establishing a NATO-like
cooperation between Arab states and Israel to counter Iran
interview:Q: How do you evaluate Biden's trip to the Middle East? Was it successful?A: Biden's trip to the Middle East (West Asia) had three
major goals:1) To reassure Israel of the continued American support and Washington's determination to do whatever it takes to keep Iran from
estrangement caused by the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and helps accelerate the pace of Saudi-Israeli reconciliation and encourage Riyadh to
In these regards, he was only partially successful
The Saudi said that they are already producing 13 million barrels per day
They were also non-committal on persuading other OPEC members to lift their production levels.In fact, the Saudis, especially MBS, were the
winners of the Biden visit
After calling Saudi Arabia and MBS pariahs, Biden went to visit both.Q: Do you think the idea of Arab NATO is realistic? Is the U.S
able to guarantee Persian Gulf Arab states' security? Apparently it is not the case, at least in Yemen.A: Nothing remotely resembling NATO
could be established in the Arab world
However, more formal and structured defense cooperation among some Arab states and potentially Israel is not beyond the realm of possibility
A number of Arab states are already cooperating with Israel on defense and intelligence sharing and they are buying Israeli weapons
and some European states have provided a defensive shield to the Persian Gulf Arab states
Even in Yemen, Western help has prevented the Houthis from achieving victory
relations continue to warm up, the West might provide more weapons to Riyadh and also pressure the Houthis in other ways.Q: Do you expect
Saudi Arabia has opened its skies to Israeli aircraft
This is a major gain for Tel Aviv, especially, if later Riyadh decides to allow Israeli military aircraft to use its airspace
However, as long as King Salman is alive, I don't foresee the establishment of diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel.Q: Do you
predict the Saudi government will cooperate with the Biden administration to lower oil prices while Biden is not popular among the King
Also, Riyadh would try to get other concessions from the U.S
such as a harder approach towards Iran, inducing not returning to the JCPOA.Q: Do you see any shift in American foreign policy when it comes
to Palestine in the Biden, Trump and Obama administrations?A: Unfortunately, at least for the past 42 years, all U.S
administrations have essentially given Israel what it has demanded and have remained silent as Israel has continued to deny the
Palestinians' right to statehood as envisaged in the Two State formula
Meanwhile, Israel has expanded settlements in Palestinian lands while the West has remained inactive
This Israeli policy has basically rendered the two-state solution meaningless
I believe, the most Israel would agree to be a very limited autonomy for the Palestinian
