Saudi Arabia and Israel have an "interesting" relationship. On one hand, they appear to be close supporters of Israel:
_http://www.mideastyouth.com/2010/07/29/saudi-arabia-israel-vs-iran/
It wasn’t so long ago when Shahram Amiri had surfaced, raising more questions as to whether he was abducted or not, and whether Saudi Arabia was involved in his alleged abduction and smuggling to the U.S. and how this would explain the claims of Saudi Arabia working with U.S. and Israel against Iran.
The Times of London had quoted an unnamed U.S. defense source as saying that the Saudis have given their permission for the Israelis to pass over and they will look the other way.
_http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=136697
The following is a transcript of Press TV's interview with Ali al-Ahmed, director of the Institute of Gulf Affairs (IGA), regarding Saudi Arabia's past relations with Israel and its recent bombing of Northern Yemen. [...]
Press TV: King Abdullah speaks of the peace process, “To establish a just and comprehensive peace in ensuring the legitimate rights of the Palestinians.” Such things have been said for years by the Saudi leaders. I mean is the outcome expected to be any different this time around?
al-Ahmed: I don't think a different outcome will happen and let's just remember in 2009 when the Gaza attack occurred. Saudi Arabia was in support of the Israeli attack on Gaza and they were not totally against it. We see this policy continuing to happen. Saudi Arabia wants Israel to pressure Palestinian groups like Hamas which it doesn't like. Saudi Arabia is on the side of Israel. And you have probably heard the story of the chief of the Mossad in Israel meeting with Saudi Arabia in secret. That is not the first time the Saudis and Israelis have met so there is some kind of coordination between the two sides.
Press TV:I'd like to stay with what you just mentioned. There is word of Saudi Arabia allowing access for Israeli planes if Israel were to attack Iran and as you just mentioned the Israeli Mossad chief visited Saudi Arabia for talks. How probable is it that the relationship is growing and that King Abdullah's Arab unity tour was more about that than anything else.
al-Ahmed: It was about that for sure. The Saudi government has always for the last 50 years put in mind the relationship with Israel. It was not really a hostile relation; it was a relation of convenience. In the last 20 years or so, they have had cooperative contacts. For example we know that the former Saudi ambassador to Washington had secret meetings and communications; not only in the last few years but it dates back over 20 years ago. So they have this relationship of convenience because we see that Saudi Arabia has not contributed to any effort that is against Israel in terms of a military attack. They have always avoided that but you see them very active in Yemen, Pakistan, Iraq and other countries. You don't see them doing anything militarily against Israel because of their special relationship. It is a private relationship but it has been highlighted with the meeting between King Abdullah and Shimon Peres, the Israeli president, in 2008 in New York. So this is something that has been done on the highest levels of both governments.
Here is an article about Meir Dagan's (Mossad chief) visit to Saudi Arabia:
_http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/mossad-chief-reportedly-visited-saudi-arabia-for-talks-on-iran-1.304032
According to the reports, the talks conducted in Saudi Arabia with the head of Israel's espionage agency dealt with Iran and its nuclear program. The account follows a series of recent reports on increasing secret cooperation between Israel and the Saudis, including defense coordination on matters related to possible military action against Iran's nuclear facilities.
Two months ago, the Times of London reported that during the course of a Saudi military exercise, air defense system operations were halted for a few hours to rehearse a scenario whereby Israeli fighter planes would cross Saudi Arabian air space en route to an attack on Iran.
Arab and Iranian media outlets have also reported Israeli air force planes and helicopters landing in Saudi Arabia for the purposes of positioning equipment there.
On the other hand, we have things like the threat to ban Blackberries in Saudi Arabia (that was since lifted) and other countries after Mossad's operation in Dubai:
_http://www.domain-b.com/industry/telecom/20100809_standards_while.html
The November 2009 terrorist attack in Mumbai, the January 2010 assassination of Palestine leader Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai by Israel's intelligence agency Mossad and the series of bombings of American military assets in Saudi Arabia by groups affiliated to the Al Qaida, have forced the governments of these countries to demand access to its encrypted data from BlackBerry maker Research In Motion (RIM).
The UAE threatened to block certain BlackBerry services from 10 October 2010, Saudi Arabia has temporarily put off its 6 August ban after RIM seems to have agreed to set up and test three proxy servers for the country's Blackberry operators.
_http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/08/09/blackberry-security-stance-sows-anxiety/
The 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai heightened concerns in India over the government’s inability to eavesdrop on encrypted communications. In the United Arab Emirates, similar concerns escalated this year after a Palestinian operative was killed in a hotel in Dubai, possibly by a team from the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency.
And things like US downgrading Saudi arms deal over Israeli concerns.
_http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/report-u-s-downgrades-saudi-arms-deal-over-israeli-concerns-1.306886
Last month, a senior defense source told Haaretz that Israel was trying to prevent the United States from selling new F-15 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia in order to upgrade the 150 F-15s already in the Saudi air force. [...]
It was also reported that Israel made its reservations clear at a meeting in Tel Aviv between top Israeli defense officials and a delegation led by U.S. under secretary of defense for policy Michele Flournoy.
According to the Wall Street Journal report, the Obama administration in fact agreed to sell advanced F-15 fighter jets to the Saudis, however excluding long-range weapons systems as well as other components in order to quiet Israel's concerns. [...]
Last month, security sources told Haaretz that if the deal would indeed be completed, Israel hoped Saudi Arabia will receive fewer advanced versions of the F-15 than those possessed by Israel, which seeks to maintain its air force's superiority. "Today these planes are against Iran, tomorrow they might turn against us," the source said.
It won't be the first time that Israel throws a tantrum when Saudi Arabia is about to receive a bigger or same aid from US. Clearly, the relationship is not exactly "'friendly"or even convenient for Saudi Arabia. Wonder what's really going on.
Oh, and 5 days ago, US embassy in Saudi Arabia issued a warning about a possible extremist attack. And we know who the extremists are.
The U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia said Westerners face possible attack from unidentified extremists in the central province of al-Qassim, in the first warning of its kind this year.
"We have received credible information that an unidentified extremist (s) in Saudi Arabia may be planning to attack Westerners working and living in al-Qassim, Saudi Arabia," the embassy said in a statement posted on its website.
"The timing and method of potential attacks are currently unknown," said the statement dated Aug. 4, urging U.S. citizens to "exercise prudence and enhanced security awareness at all times".[...]
Saudi Arabia arrested 113 mainly Saudi and Yemeni al Qaeda-linked militants in March, including two suicide bomb teams.
