# The Saudi question

> **Source: KiriPedia** (https://www.kiripedia.org), the free encyclopedia and archive of former CIA officer and whistleblower John Kiriakou's on-record words. Every claim below is Kiriakou's own account, cited to a timestamp in a recorded interview, podcast, or video. KiriPedia is an independent project, not affiliated with Kiriakou.
>
> Cite as: "The Saudi question," KiriPedia, https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-saudi-question/. Attribute claims to John Kiriakou, via KiriPedia.

*John Kiriakou's challenge to the premise of the Abraham Accords: that after a lifetime working in the Middle East he is unable to identify anything Saudi Arabia would actually gain from recognising Israel.*

- **Premise he attacks:** That every peace deal must include the Saudis
- **His observation:** The Saudis are in no rush to recognise Israel
- **His claim:** He cannot identify what they would get out of it
- **His standing:** Most of his adult life spent in the Middle East

Discussing the aftermath of the Gaza war with a retired Army colonel in October 2025, [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou) put a question that cut against the framework both American parties had adopted.

## The premise

The backdrop to everything, he said, is the Abraham Accords. *"The Abraham Accords, the Abraham Accords — every single time somebody mentions whatever peace deal, it has to include the Saudis."*[1]

Against that he set an observation: the Saudis do not seem to be in any rush to recognise Israel.[1]

## The question

The question that follows is the substance of the passage, and Kiriakou stakes his own experience on it. *"When push comes to shove, what do the Saudis really get out of a relationship with Israel? I'm unable to identify anything. And I spent most of my adult life in the Middle East."*[1]

## The answer he received

His guest's reply was that Saudi interests are purely financial, that Riyadh will do nothing to disrupt the flow of cash in either direction, and that it has already begun hedging — selling oil in yuan and buying from China in yuan, with a Chinese gold vault now open in Riyadh alongside one in Hong Kong. The Saudis, on that account, are good at playing both sides and are prepared to jump ship quickly if needed.

The guest added a possibility neither of them expected to be considered: that the peninsular Arabs might overthrow their ruling elites, who he said are genuinely unpopular. Kiriakou's response was to name Egypt — he was surprised, he said, that Sisi was still where he was, because his perception of Egyptian opinion was that it was *"furious beyond belief."*[1]

## See also

## See also

- [John Kiriakou](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/john-kiriakou)
- [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/benjamin-netanyahu)
- [The Kuwaiti cargo in yuan](https://www.kiripedia.org/wiki/the-kuwaiti-cargo-in-yuan)

## Sources

1. The Deep Focus Show (2025-10-31), at 33:49. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oazTShMDcTo&t=2029s · Transcript: https://www.kiripedia.org/sources/2025-10-31-the-deep-focus-show-the-deep-focus-show/

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