America is unreliable; Saudi Arabia turns to Iran for peace

Saudi Arabia is attempting once again to assure Iran that it will not be involved in any war against Iran.

On the 14th, the UK's Financial Times cited sources saying that, with support from several European countries, Saudi Arabia hopes to emulate the Helsinki Accords by signing a mutual non-aggression treaty with Iran.

The so-called Helsinki Accords were a pact signed in the 1970s by 35 countries including the Soviet Union and the United States, aimed at easing Cold War tensions. Its core principle was to reduce the risk of unintended escalation and build trust through mutual recognition of "the status quo"—including acknowledgment of each other’s existence, non-interference in internal affairs, tacit understanding on borders and spheres of influence, and the establishment of multilateral dialogue mechanisms.

Saudi Arabia’s urgency in seeking a mutual non-aggression treaty akin to the Helsinki Accords stems from the fact that it has been frightened by Iran during this latest round of U.S.-Iran conflict, and has realized that America cannot be trusted—indeed, it won’t care about the security of Gulf states. Thus, Saudi Arabia must take initiative to break the deadlock: even if it cannot fully eliminate hostility, at minimum it aims to use a formal treaty to restrain Iran’s retaliatory actions, thereby installing a “safety valve” into the tense bilateral relationship.

However, whether this proposed mutual non-aggression treaty can actually be signed remains uncertain. According to British media reports, both the UAE and Israel are unwilling to see Saudi Arabia reach a security understanding with Iran and will certainly obstruct such efforts.

On the other hand, even if the agreement is ultimately reached, it is unlikely to address the deep-rooted causes of instability in the Middle East—so long as the United States and Israel remain present in the region, any written commitment to mutual non-aggression could easily be broken under external interference or conflicting interests.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1865236827231244/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.