Biden to re-evaluate ties with Saudi Arabia, call Netanyahu soon

U.S. President Joe Biden plans to re-evaluate U.S. relations with Saudi Arabia, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Tuesday.

She added that the U.S. administration will communicate with Riyadh through Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, rather than Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Psaki also confirmed that the U.S. would support Saudi Arabia in meeting its self-defense needs.

Concerning Israel, the White House Spokesman said that Biden's 1st call with a leader in the region will be to Israeli Prime Minister (PM) Benjamin Netanyahu.

The Israeli PM said on Monday: “US President Joe Biden has not called me since he took office on January 20.”

In an interview with Israeli TV Channel 12, Netanyahu added: “We have had a great friendship with Biden for nearly 40 years since I worked at the Israeli embassy in Washington and Biden was a member of the Senate. We share the same views on many files, but there are differences about Iran and the Palestinians.”

“I have great relationships with Democrats. I meet hundreds of Congressmen and Senators who are visiting Israel. The story is not Democrats and Republicans, but it is a matter of politics,” the Israeli PM stressed.