Special to WorldTribune.com

Israel and Saudi Arabia have conducted five secret meetings since 2014 to discuss the rise of Iran and the impact on the regional balance of power.

The meetings were revealed on June 4 at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington.

Dore Gold, set to be the next director general of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, and Anwar Majed Eshki, a retired Saudi general and former adviser to Prince Bandar bin Sultan, both spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations event on June 4.

“Our standing today on this stage does not mean we have resolved all the differences that our countries have shared over the years,” Gold said. “But our hope is we will be able to address them fully in the years ahead.”

The two nations are historical enemies but have been brought together by U.S. President Barack Obama’s relentless pursuit of a nuclear agreement with Iran. Saudi Arabia still refused to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist.

The meetings were held in India, Italy and the Czech Republic according to reports.

Shimon Shapira, a retired Israeli general and an expert on Iran-backed Hizbullah, was a participant at the secret meetings and said both sides engaged in dialogue aimed at blunting Iran politically and economically.

“We discovered we have the same problems and same challenges and some of the same answers,” Shapira said.

  Council on Foreign Relations, Dore Gold, Israel, Saudi Arabia held 5 secret meetings on Iran threat since 2014, WorldTribune.com