The US remains the dominant external power in the Middle East despite increasing Chinese and Russian influence in the region, Prince Turki Al Faisal has said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, the former Saudi ambassador to Washington told On The Record with Hadley Gamble that America's influence around the world extended beyond "military hardware and ability".
“We've seen how efficient it can be, and not just in our part of the world. You've seen what they did in Venezuela, for example," Prince Turki said, referring to a US military operation in January that led to the capture of President Nicolas Maduro. "I can't say that there is any one country that has specific influence or more influence than others, but the US is still, in my view, the biggest player.”
But the former head of Saudi intelligence questioned how President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace would work in Gaza without the infrastructure and buy-in of the UN. The board, which is to be led by Mr Trump, has been set up to oversee the reconstruction of the enclave as part a 20-point peace plan.
“Putting [the board] in place requires institutional support and the only available alternative or offer is the United Nations," Prince Turki said. "Nato is not going to do it. Nor is the Arab League going to do it. And definitely, America alone will not be able to do it.”
He was critical of the board's initial work, saying the initiative had achieved little beyond drawing the support of Hamas. “Israel continues to break the ceasefire. Every day they continue to kill Palestinians," he said. "They blame so-called extremists, Hamas, fighters coming out and shooting at them. But that's no excuse. Hamas is pretty much decimated.
"That's why Hamas has come along. And we've had praise from Mr Trump for Hamas, you know, for delivering on what it promised to deliver. I'm still waiting to see if that council is going to walk the walk and not simply talk the talk.”
There has also been escalating tension in the region over the prospect of Mr Trump ordering strikes on Iran. The USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group was sent to the Middle East in January and a second aircraft carrier is expected to join it.
Prince Turki said he believed the leadership in Tehran was under pressure after deadly anti-government protests that spread across the country. “Iran sustained very strong and destructive blows in the last couple of years. And we've seen the uprising. And it wasn't the first one, you know,” he said.
“Through their own admission it cost a lot of lives. So there is a sense of uncertainty, definitely, facing the leadership in Iran that maybe they haven't faced before.”
