Netanyahu and the changing Mid East landscape

Close US-Israel relations have suddenly precipitated to a low ebb due to shift in US Mid East policy necessitated to deal with the changing landscape.



As Obama is relying on Iranian Shiite militias to check and defeat ISIS advances in Iraq and Mid East peace ,the US-Israel relations further strained after Netanyahu accepted invitation to address joint US Congress . His controversial speech before the bipartisan body was an affront to Obama’s Iran policy. Facing tough challenges in his election on 17^th March , his effort was to boost his decaying image at home and to somehow brighten his elections prospects .

The fractious debate over a possible nuclear deal with Iran escalated further as 47 Republican senators warned Iran about making an agreement with President Obama.

In a rare direct congressional intervention into diplomatic negotiations, the Republicans signed an open letter addressed to “leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran” declaring that any agreement without legislative approval could be reversed by the next president “with the stroke of a pen.”

The White House and the top Democratic Party leadership in the Congress alleged that by doing so the Republicans have sought to not only bypass the US President, but also undermine the prestige of American presidency.
Obama, who was not consulted before Netanyahu was invited to address lawmakers is desirous to leave a positive legacy of having resolved Mid East peace process and having defeated the Islamist IS movement raising its ugly head in the Syrian-Iraq region.

Obama’s current aim is to resolve the Mid East peace process unduly prolonged by his obstinate approach and thus leave a legacy of normalizing the Israel’s simmering problem on one hand and to finally deal and defeat the ISIS threat that was not conducive to the Mid East becoming a zone of peace. The ISIS threat is multiplying and spreading and requires immediate solution for stable economic and political order internationally.

But Israel, Saudi Arabia are concerned about Iran’s increasing role in the form of Shiite militias, including the Iranian-backed Hezbollah in the battle take back Saddam Hussein’s hometown of Tikrit
Even if Netanyahu is successful in winning the elections , it will not irk Obama’s approach with Egyptian President Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi solidly on his side on regional peace and security policies..
US President Barack Obama considers the involvement of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the Arab League key to any post-election process.
Viewing the changing equations in the Mid East and emerging influence of Iranian in the region ,Saudi Arabia is fast building up its defense arsenal and King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al instead focuses on regional alliances to contain Iran’s increasing influence.

Moreover for the first time in 2014, the Saudis publicly displayed their vintage Chinese-made intermediate-range ballistic missiles that can reach Tehran .The Saudi government bought the missiles from China in 1987 but had refrained for decades from publicly showing them off .