Saudi analyst expects the kingdom to change support for Egypt

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Jamal Khashoggi

A Saudi journalist and political commentator has said that he expects his country's support for Egypt to change, and has claimed that the current Egyptian media attack on Saudi Arabia has official approval.

Speaking to Egypt's Almesryoon newspaper, Jamal Khashoggi said the kingdom will have to rearrange its priorities due to its enormous commitments in Yemen and Syria as well as on the internal front. His comments came after renowned Egyptian journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal attacked Saudi Arabia. This, believes Khashoggi, was done with the approval of the regime in Cairo.

"Heikal has strong ties with the decision-making circles in Egypt and everyone knows that," he explained. "At the very least, President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi should have defended King Salman by saying that he disagrees with Heikal, as the Saudi monarch has been very supportive of Egypt and the Egyptians."

According to Khashoggi, future Saudi relations with Egypt depend on two main issues: stopping the regional collapse which leads to terrorism and the fight against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad, and curtailing Iran's influence in the region.