00:00 Saudi Arabia and Israel have never had diplomatic relations, but it's looking like that could
00:05 soon change.
00:07 Israel's foreign minister said Thursday a U.S.-brokered deal to normalize relations
00:11 could be in place by early next year.
00:14 Formal ties between Israel and Saudi Arabia would reshuffle the Middle East, bringing
00:18 together two major U.S. partners who are also both adversaries of Iran.
00:24 Our correspondent in Jerusalem, Iris Machler, has the details.
00:28 Well, one of the hurdles, one of the main hurdles, I guess, is it's a three-way deal,
00:33 and a triangle is always more complicated than a straight line.
00:37 Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi crown prince, said in yesterday's interview that Washington
00:42 is pursuing him.
00:43 That means he can raise a slightly higher price for agreeing to be part of this.
00:48 He's demanding a defense pact, a pretty hefty and watertight defense pact, where the U.S.
00:53 would come to Saudi aid if it's attacked.
00:56 He's also demanding nuclear, the right to enrich uranium.
01:00 Looking across at Iran, he's not comfortable with his main regional rival being able to
01:05 enrich uranium, and he's demanding that right, too.
01:09 Now, that's something that causes great concern in the U.S. and in Israel, where people are
01:15 talking about that extensively today and saying, warning, that if that begins, you're starting
01:21 actually a nuclear race in the Middle East.
01:23 Why wouldn't Turkey want it?
01:25 Why wouldn't Egypt want it?
01:27 So all of those factors come together.
01:29 Plus, of course, then there's the Palestinians.
