As with the recent trilateral meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh between the leaders of Israel, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, Jerusalem attempted to frame this week’s expanded forum in Sde Boker as the establishment of a regional front against Iran.
Hebrew media presented the Negev summit appropriately, with all three major news channels using variations on the Kyron “The Summit Against Iran” in their coverage of meetings between the foreign ministers of Israel, the United States, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain on Sunday and Sunday Monday showed and Morocco.
“The conference is a message to Iran that the response of those it targets will only become more unified as it continues to spread chaos across the region,” a senior Israeli official told The Times of Israel, speaking at the condition of anonymity.
“What we are doing here is making history, building a new regional architecture based on progress, technology, religious tolerance, security and intelligence cooperation,” Foreign Minister Yair Lapid said during a joint press appearance at the end of the summit. “This new architecture, the joint capabilities that we are building, intimidates and deters our common enemies, first and foremost Iran and its proxies.”
While Iran may have been the “first and most important” issue for Israel, this did not seem to be the case for the other participating countries, whose foreign ministers either did not mention the Islamic Republic at all or only mentioned it more nominally during the final press appearance. Arab diplomats speaking to The Times of Israel insisted that while Iran was a problem, it wasn’t what drew them to the Negev summit.
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A question of priorities
“If you ask every minister at the table, maybe they’ll come up with a different priority,” said Dan Shapiro, a distinguished fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Middle East program, who previously served as US ambassador to Israel and until last week as senior adviser in the US worked as a special representative for Iran.
“For the UAE, it could be a clean energy investment; for Bahrain it could be maritime security; for Morocco it could be education and agriculture; for Egypt… [it might be] all of that,” he added.
Concluding their talks at the Negev Summit, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry, Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and the United Arab Emirates left. Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Monday March 28, 2022, in Sde Boker, Israel. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
A diplomat representing one of the participating Arab countries speculated that one reason for the foreign ministers’ more general statements at the joint press appearance was that the most notable aspect of the summit “was simply that it took place” – an achievement indeed unthinkable before the previous US administration brokered normalization agreements between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Morocco, known as the Abraham Accords.
As for the US, Blinken seemed keen to seize the opportunity to reassure allies in the region that the Biden administration has their backs and support in dealing with the threats they face and will support their efforts to bring them closer together.
“The United States has strongly supported and will continue to support a process that is transforming this region and beyond,” the minister said of the Abraham Accords.
Blinken also reassured other attendees that the US would help them fight “Iran and its proxies,” a message aimed particularly at Israel and the United Arab Emirates amid Jerusalem’s frustration with US efforts to contain the reviving a nuclear deal with Iran, and the Emirates’ anger at Washington’s refusal to take a tougher stance against the Houthis amid repeated attacks by Yemeni rebels on Gulf allies.
keep us out of your fight
At first glance, the Negev summit presented an excellent opportunity for Israel and its newest allies to come together to discuss the common threat posed by Iran, although Jerusalem’s concerns center on Tehran’s nuclear program, while the other participants are more concerned above make ballistic missile program and support for proxies across the region.
But a senior Emirates official told the Times of Israel that Iran has still not persuaded Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan to visit Israel for the first time.
After the Negev Summit meeting, Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, left, walks with Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid Monday, March 28, 2022, in Sde Boker, Israel. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
“For us, it’s about regional integration and better cooperation in the areas of economy, security and energy,” said the senior official.
The senior Emirati official agreed that each participant came to the Negev with their own unique interests. “The question is how will this rebalancing benefit each country individually while also addressing regional issues? I don’t have an answer on that yet, but this meeting is a good start.”
Anwar Gargash, who serves as diplomatic adviser to UAE President Khalifa bin Zayed, echoed this sentiment further, saying: “The UAE’s participation in the ‘Negev Summit’ stems from our belief in a regional approach that deepens economic cooperation in the region and bridges gaps through a discourse of tolerance and communication.”
Noting the Gulf states’ proximity to Iran and the power imbalance they suffer compared to the Islamic Republic, an Arab diplomat attending the summit said the UAE and Bahrain in particular are not interested in “joining an Israeli campaign , which is too publicly aggressive” against Tehran.
The Arab diplomat added that, unlike Israel, the remaining participants at the summit were more open to the idea of a revived nuclear deal, describing the current reality, in which Iran is able to ramp up its nuclear activities without a deal, as ” not sustainable”. .”
The inaugural roundtable will begin at the Negev Summit when Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (clockwise from left) will meet with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani, Monday March 28, 2022, in Sde Boker, Israel. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
This is not to say that Israel’s Arab allies support an entirely passive stance on Iran.
Without mentioning Iran by name, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita said Monday the summit was a message to “those who are enemies of this positive dynamic – here in your region, also in North Africa, directly or through their proxies… that we are.” here to defend our values.”
The elephant not in the room
Iran was also relatively low on the agenda for Egypt in Sde Böker.
An Egyptian official said Cairo is particularly concerned about the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Egypt’s food supply, as it imports most of its wheat from the two countries that are currently at war.
“We hope that by discussing these matters at the summit, we will reach a regional solution to this problem,” the official said, adding “the same goes for the energy crisis.”
The Egyptian official added that Cairo is also keen to play a role in ensuring the sides do not neglect the Palestinian issue.
Indeed, during the joint press appearance, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry was quick to express his country’s support for a two-state solution along pre-1967 borders, while warning Israel against unilateral action that “could disrupt the current situation.”
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (third from left) chairs a meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah (second from right) in Ramallah March 28, 2022. (Wafa new agency)
Shoukry found an ally at the summit in Blinken, with the latter repeatedly raising the Palestinian issue along with possible steps the parties could take to strengthen the prospects for a two-state solution during the summit’s closed-door meetings, he said a diplomat item familiar with the Summit.
This was probably not enough to persuade Jordan to send its foreign minister to his counterparts in Sde Boker. Ayman Safadi was just across the Green Line in Ramallah and accompanied King Abdullah to a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday.
Safadi has either received Israeli counterparts in Amman or met them at the Allenby Crossing between the West Bank and Jordan, as part of Jordan’s long-standing policy to avoid sweeping gestures when there is no significant progress on the Palestinian record. While intermittently hosting senior Israeli officials over the years, Abdullah last visited Israel in 2004 when he held talks with then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon about his plans to unilaterally withdraw from Gaza.
But with participants announcing that the Negev summit was the first iteration of a permanent regional forum that will rotate between countries, it may be easier for Jordan to join other Middle East allies at future meetings.