As Israel was bombing targets in Iran this week to neutralize its nuclear program and the Iranians were firing missiles at Israel, U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Highland Park, was in the Middle East listening to leaders in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia.
Leading a bipartisan trip to the three countries sponsored by the N7 Initiative, Schneider said leaders from all three nations made it clear they do not want Iran to have a nuclear weapon, but they are hoping for a diplomatic solution.
“All three countries believe Iran having a nuclear weapon is an unacceptable existential threat to their countries as well as Qatar and Kuwait,” Schneider said. “They do not want Iran to have a nuclear weapon. They are concerned about the fighting and hope to see a diplomatic solution.”
Schneider and his colleagues — U.S. Reps. Jimmy Panetta, D-Calif, Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, and Don Bacon, R-Neb.— returned to Washington Thursday after cancelling plans to spend two days in Israel at the end of their trip to help promote the Abraham Accords.
After meeting with leaders in the three Arab countries, the four congressmen were scheduled to leave for Israel. Schneider said with Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv closed, the quartet made plans to fly to Amman, Jordan, and travel to Israel by car.
Since the trip was sponsored by N7 Initiative, which is a partnership between the Atlantic Council and the Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation, Schneider said they needed the change in plans approved by the House committee overseeing such travel. The request was denied, shortening the trip.
Though Schneider said the delegation was unable to get to Israel, they had a telephone conversation with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar. Disappointed that there was no face-to-face meeting; phone conversations are a substitute.
“It was a friendly conversation. It had to be done on the phone. We talked about containing Iran. There are 40,000 U.S. personnel in the region,” Schneider said. “We plan to share what we learned with our colleagues in Congress and with the (President Donald Trump) administration.”
Though Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain are part of the Abraham Accords, Saudi Arabia has yet to join and normalize relations with Israel. Schneider said the Saudi government hopes to normalize relations with Israel, but it has its own conditions.
“They want to see Israel on an irreversible path to a two-state solution,” Schneider said, referring to Israel and the Palestinians living side by side in two independent countries.
Bringing Saudi Arabia into the Abraham Accords was a goal in both the first Trump administration and during former President Joe Biden’s term. A major purpose of the trip was strengthening those relationships and bringing the Saudis closer.
“These nations believe the Jews and Arabs belong in the same land and need to find a way to live there together,” Schneider said. “The Saudis were very close to normalizing relations with Israel before Oct. 7. We’ve learned that is one of the reasons Hamas attacked Israel.”
Seeing multiple development projects in the UAE and Bahrain, Schneider said those countries and Saudi Arabia are taking steps to modernize. The young people are being educated in the West — both the United States and the United Kingdom — and bringing their skills home.
“You’re seeing a lot of cranes,” Schneider said. “They’re diversifying economically, they’re looking to the west.”
Gaza was on the minds of the leaders in all three countries, particularly Saudi Arabia. Schneider said they want to see an end to the fighting, the hostages returned home, and a non-Hamas government.
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Schneider said his office is getting a lot of calls from people in the 10th Congressional District who have family in Israel. With the airport closed, they are worried about their loved ones. His office is working on the situation.
“We’re doing everything we can to make sure those who are there are safe and those who want to come home will be able to do so.”
This story was updated at 4:25 p.m. Thursday.