Saudi Arabia's priority is permanent Gaza ceasefire, says Foreign Minister

Prince Faisal bin Farhan calls for end to 'completely unacceptable' violence, amid speculation that kingdom could establish ties with Israel

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have held talks in Moscow. AP

Saudi Arabia's priority is to reach a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, despite growing speculation about the kingdom establishing relations with Israel, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on Friday.

Prince Faisal was asked about the future of Saudi ties with Israel during a visit to Moscow. "What we are seeing is the Israelis are crushing Gaza, the civilian population of Gaza," he said. "This is completely unnecessary, completely unacceptable and has to stop."

Since returning to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump has made expanding the Abraham Accords, which established relations between Israel and several Arab states, a central foreign policy goal.

Before the Gaza war erupted in October 2023, Saudi Arabia was in advanced talks to join the Abraham Accords and establish relations with Israel, in a move mediated by the US. But Israel’s war on Gaza halted that momentum, with Riyadh publicly emphasising the need for a credible path towards a Palestinian state before moving forward.

In 2024, Prince Faisal said the kingdom could not establish ties with Israel without the Palestinian issue being resolved.

More than 57,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's assault on Gaza since October 7, 2023, health authorities in the enclave have said. The war began when Hamas led an attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people, with about 240 taken hostage.

During his visit to Moscow, Prince Faisal met Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. They held a joint press conference after talks on subjects that included regional and international developments, as well as areas of co-operation between their countries.

On Iran, Prince Faisal stressed the importance of resuming diplomatic negotiations over the country's nuclear programme and said Tehran also needed to co-operate fully with the UN nuclear watchdog.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday that Iran “remains committed to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and its safeguards agreement”, a day after President Masoud Pezeshkian approved a law suspending co-operation with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

“Our co-operation with the IAEA will be channelled through Iran's Supreme National Security Council for obvious safety and security reasons,” Mr Araghchi said in a post on X.

Iranian leaders have accused the agency of providing Israel with grounds for attacking its nuclear sites, after the IAEA board censured Tehran last month for failing to comply with its obligations under the non-proliferation treaty, which is intended to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.