There were strong reactions to last week’s surprise announcement that China had brokered an agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to normalize relations once again. Most viewed it as a very positive development, although how much impact it will have and whether it will even ultimately last remains to be seen.
Reactions were so positive that the US even had to put on a brave face and pretend it was happy about it, even though the agreement threatens to upend their entire regional strategy and China has now emerged as a more capable regional mediator than them. Israel felt no such restraint as past and present prime minister “blamed” each other for what they saw as a terrible development that threatens to undermine their work on the Abraham Accords. This piece in Mondoweiss examines all of this in depth.