Saudi Official: Netanyahu Leads Fight Against Iran, We Hope He Remains in Power

A source connected to the Saudi royal family told i24NEWS that they are closely monitoring Israel’s upcoming elections and hope that the current government will not change.

The source, who asked to be unnamed, stressed that Saudi Arabia knows and appreciates Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and backs his policies with regard to ties to the Gulf states and his high-pressure tactics on Iran.

“[We] … not only like Netanyahu but love him. He is terrific. He has the necessary charisma and he knows what he is doing. We are really worried the leader of the opposition will replace him, and change things,” he said, referring to MK Yair Lapid, head of the Yesh Atid faction.

A separate source, similarly connected to the royal family, expounded further on Saudi Arabia’s preference for Netanyahu. We see him as “the spearhead in the fight against Iran,” they maintained.

However, the source stressed that no Saudi Arabian official could say this openly.

“No country will say this publicly, or intervene in the elections of another country, certainly not us, and certainly not now.”

Both Saudi sources said that there were a number of issues of particular concern to them: a potential change in government in Israel, in addition to a sharply shifting course in President Joe Biden’s administration compared with his predecessor former President Donald Trump.

Trump had a close working relationship with the Mohammed bin Salman-controlled part of the Saudi government. In addition, Trump implemented a maximum-pressure campaign on Iran, including the imposition of far-reaching sanctions.

Meanwhile, Biden has already stated his desire to return to the 2015 nuclear deal from which Trump withdrew in 2018 and has also implemented a far colder policy toward Riyadh.