After months of shuttle diplomacy between Washington and Riyadh, the shape of the Biden administration’s blockbuster plan to normalise relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia — and in doing so reshape the region’s geopolitics — is coming into view. So are the obstacles.    

“There’s a rapprochement under way,” President Joe Biden said at the end of July. It was a cautious shift in tone from the president, who only weeks earlier had downplayed the chances of a diplomatic breakthrough. 

The terms are complex. Saudi Arabia would open formal relations with Israel, bringing hopes that other Muslim nations would follow suit. In exchange, Riyadh would secure more US defence support and assistance on a civil nuclear programme. The kingdom would also want Israel to make concessions on the Palestinians’ aspirations for statehood.