Israeli President Isaac Herzog said on Thursday that achieving peace with Saudi Arabia remains one of his greatest aspirations, expressing admiration for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and calling for closer ties between Jews and Muslims across the Middle East.
“It is my dream to see peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia. I have great respect for Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. The thing that we want most in Israel is to see rapprochement between the nations,” Herzog said in an interview conducted in Jerusalem with the state-owned, Riyadh-based news channel Al-Arabiya.
“The dialogue between Jerusalem and Mecca should be the real gist of it, because I believe Jew and Muslim need to dwell together in this region in peace,” he continued. “I guess I can’t come to Riyadh just as an ordinary citizen, but I hope to be able to realize this dream and meet the Saudi Arabian leadership officially in due course.”
Herzog praised the Abraham Accords as a model for regional cooperation.
“We are very happy about the Abraham Accords, and we’re very proud of our relations with the Kingdom of Morocco, the Kingdom of Bahrain and with the United Arab Emirates, which is just an example of how successful it can be,” he said.
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said that normalization with Israel would require significant progress toward the establishment of a Palestinian state. U.S. officials have continued to express hope that a normalization agreement could be reached as part of a broader regional realignment.
Addressing Iran’s recent actions in the region, Herzog accused Tehran of repeatedly violating agreements.
“I am not surprised that this is the situation, because with the Iranian pattern of behavior, which we know, it is impossible to do deals. They violate them all the time. They have their own way of interpreting things that are very, very clear,” he said.
Herzog welcomed Washington’s response to the latest developments.
“I’m happy that the American reaction is firm so that everybody understands, especially the Iranians, that they have to go back on track if they really want to implement an exit from the war,” he said.
The president also emphasized the strength of U.S.-Israel ties despite occasional disagreements.
“There is a close and good dialogue, especially in closed rooms. We can have our differences. It’s only natural, but in the end, they’re tactical,” Herzog said. “We all understand that we are faced with an empire of evil in Tehran, with its proxies, with its belief that the United States is the big Satan and Israel is the small Satan.”
Herzog praised U.S. President Donald Trump and senior administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
“I respect President Trump, and I respect Vice President JD Vance, and I respect Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the entire administration. We work closely with them on many issues, and I believe that the grand picture—which the United States should push with Europe and others—is the connectivity between the East and the West,” he said.
