US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is set to visit Saudi Arabia and Israel later this week. Tensions in the Red Sea continue to rise as a Panama-flagged oil tanker came under attack by the Houthis.
In Riyadh, Jake Sullivan will meet with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss long-term US efforts to conclude an agreement to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia. The agreement would be backed by US defence guarantees for Saudi Arabia, but would also require Israel to agree to pave the way for a future Palestinian state.
Sullivan will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel to brief him on his talks in Riyadh and to discuss Israel’s planned military operation in Rafah, according to the US official. Talks with the prime minister have stalled as Israel’s allies, including the US, are ideologically in favour of two-state solutions. Whereas Israel strongly rejects the given development of post-war Gaza.
Moreover, Washington is at work to persuade Israel not to expand a further offensive in Gaza’s southernmost city. The White House has received assurances from Jerusalem that the IDF will not proceed further before Sullivan’s visit, the official said. Israel’s prime minister has maintained that a large-scale offensive in the city is essential to defeating Hamas, which he continues to promise.
A Panama-flagged oil tanker attacked southwest of Yemen’s Mokha
Meanwhile, the situation in the Red Sea continues to be volatile as British security firm Ambrey said a Panama-flagged crude oil tanker was attacked about 10 nautical miles southwest of Yemen’s Mokha.
Radio communications showed that the vessel had been hit by a missile and that there was a fire on board. Ambrey later added that the tanker had been assisted and one of its steering units was reportedly operable. It did not specify who rendered assistance, and no other details were provided either.
“The vessel and crew are safe and continuing to its next port of call,” the UKMTO said in an advisory note, adding the incident occurred 76 nautical miles northwest of Yemen’s Hodeidah.
The Houthis have for months staged attacks on ships in the country’s waters in solidarity with Palestinians fighting Israel in the Gaza Strip. The effect has disrupted global shipping in the Red Sea, forcing companies to switch to longer and more expensive routes around South Africa, and raised fears that the war between Israel and Hamas could spread and destabilise the entire Middle East.
The US and Britain have struck Houthi targets in response to the attacks on shipping.
