ByTOBIAS HOLCMAN

Late US senator Lindsey Graham was pushing to get an Israel-Saudi normalization deal done by November, before the next US Congress is sworn in, Axios reported on Sunday, citing conversations held with Graham over the last couple of weeks.

According to Axios, Graham thought Israel-Saudi normalization could be the "big prize" product of the war with Iran, with the crisis at the Strait of Hormuz pushing Arab countries towards a new round of diplomatic arrangements with Israel, similar to the Abraham Accords.

The report mentioned that Graham thought an agreement would be possible if it happened between October, when elections are scheduled in Israel, and November.

Additionally, Graham believed that an agreement would only be possible if the war in Iran was "brought under control," and he urged, on several occasions, an "overwhelming" military operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if diplomacy failed.

Finally, the deal would require two key factors: securing enough Democratic votes to reach two-thirds of the US Congress supporting the bill, and the next Israeli government being willing to accept Saudi Arabia's normalization demands.

US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) walks through the Dirksen Senate Office Building before Judiciary Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, US, April 27, 2022.
US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) walks through the Dirksen Senate Office Building before Judiciary Committee hearing at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, US, April 27, 2022. (credit: REUTERS/TOM BRENNER)

Saudi Arabia pushing to leave Israel out of IMEC

While Graham pushed for normalization, sources told The Jerusalem Post on Wednesday that the Saudis were planning a significant change in the proposed India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) to sideline Israel from the trade initiative.

According to two sources familiar with the matter, the new proposal aims to reroute the corridor through Syria instead of Israel. The original proposal established that the final connection between the Middle East and Europe would be through the port of Haifa.

Additionally, Samantha Sutton, a fellow at the Atlantic Council and former Director at the US National Security Council, told the Post on the sidelines of an IMEC Initiative workshop hosted on July 1 and 2 by the Maritime Policy and Strategy Center that Israel must not miss the chance to form part of the IMEC initiative.

According to Sutton, the IMEC initiative has Haifa as one of its target ports, with plans to improve the port's infrastructure to make it suitable for commerce among Europe, India, and the Middle East.

Amichai Stein contributed to this report.