Saudi Arabia has abandoned its pursuit of an ambitious defense treaty with the United States in exchange for normalizing relations with Israel. Instead, Saudi Arabia is now pushing for a more modest military cooperation agreement. The proposed pact would involve expanding joint military exercises and drills to address regional threats, mainly from Iran, and would foster partnerships between U.S. and Saudi defense firms. However, it would not be a binding mutual defense treaty. The move comes as public anger in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East over Israel's military actions in Gaza remains high.