Netanyahu: Saudi-Iran détente has “very little” to do with Israel

 In a wide-ranging interview with CNBC, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said that the Saudi-Iran diplomatic détente was mainly about de-esclating tensions in the region, especial in Yemen, and “very little” to do with Israel. Asked about Riyadh additionally restoring relations with Syria and hosting Hamas terrorist leaders, Netanyahu suggested that those moves were “a message ahead of a possible peace deal with Israel” or an attempt to “stop them doing the kind of terror they foment.”  Netanyahu claimed that Saudi concerns about terror would overcome its qualms about the Palestinians. (For the Saudis, peace with the Palestinians, has been its condition for normalization of ties with Israel.) He added: “Riyadh has no illusions about who their adversaries are and who their friends are in the Middle East. They understand that Israel is an indispensable partner for the Arab world for achieving security, prosperity and peace,” whereas “countries like Yemen, Syria and Lebanon, who “partner with Iran, partner with misery.”