Biden sends Sullivan to Saudi Arabia in possible push for major Israel deal

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan arrived in Saudi Arabia on Thursday for talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, two U.S. sources told Axios and the White House confirmed.

Driving the news: Sullivan's trip is aimed at continuing the talks over a possible deal on upgrading U.S.-Saudi relations that would also include a normalization agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel, the two sources said.

• U.S. officials have previously said the administration wants to try to complete this diplomatic initiative before the presidential election campaign consumes President Biden's agenda, as Axios reported earlier this year.
• Such a deal could be unpopular among Democrats and might cost Biden a lot of political capital. But a deal could be a historic breakthrough in Middle East peace, leading to a domino effect of more Arab and Muslim-majority countries normalizing relations with Israel and putting U.S.-Saudi relations back on track.

Details: Brett McGurk, the White House Middle East czar, and Amos Hochstein, Biden's senior adviser for energy and infrastructure, joined Sullivan on his trip, the sources said.

• The visit was first reported by the New York Times.
• Sullivan met with MBS and other senior Saudi officials "to discuss bilateral and regional matters, including initiatives to advance a common vision for a more peaceful, secure, prosperous, and stable Middle East region interconnected with the world," the White House said in a readout of the visit.
• "Sullivan also reviewed significant progress to build on the benefits of the truce in Yemen that have endured over the past 16 months and welcomed ongoing UN-led efforts to bring the war to a close," the readout added. "Both delegations agreed to maintain regular consultations and follow up on matters discussed throughout the day."

Editor's note: This story has been updated with the readout of the visit.