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With Saudi deals, US, China battle for influence in Mideast
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In this photo released by Nournews, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, right, China's most senior diplomat Wang Yi, center, and Saudi Arabia's National Security Adviser Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban looks on during an agreement signing ceremony between Iran and Saudi Arabia to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions between the Mideast rivals, in Beijing, China, March 10, 2023. In a matter of days, Saudi Arabia carried out blockbuster agreements with the world's two leading powers, signing a Chinese-facilitated deal aimed at restoring diplomatic ties with its arch-nemesis Iran and announcing a massive contract to buy commercial planes from U.S. manufacturer Boeing. - photo by Nournews via AP
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a matter of days, Saudi Arabia carried out blockbuster agreements with the world’s two leading powers, signing a Chinese-facilitated deal aimed at restoring diplomatic ties with its arch-nemesis Iran and announcing a massive contract to buy commercial planes from U.S. manufacturer Boeing. The two announcements spurred speculation that the Saudis were laying their marker as a dominant economic and geopolitical force with the flexibility to play Beijing and Washington off each other. They also cast China in an unfamiliar leading role in Middle Eastern politics.