Saudi Arabia maintains its firm requirement for a clear, irreversible pathway to Palestinian statehood as a precondition for normalizing relations with Israel, a position reaffirmed by senior officials through mid-2026 and unchanged despite indirect security discussions via U.S. Central Command on shared threats like Houthi attacks. The ongoing effects of the Gaza conflict and related regional tensions have reinforced this stance, with Riyadh treating normalization as off the table absent progress on a two-state framework. Domestic Saudi public opinion remains strongly opposed, and constitutional authority for any treaty rests with the aging king. These factors sustain trader consensus that full diplomatic ties are unlikely before the end of 2026.