Americans and Israelis tend to suffer from ‘delusions of diplomacy’ when it comes to the Muslim world.

Some Israelis in particular have the conviction that because they have back channels to Muslim nations and private talks with them that they’re on track to a better relationship. A few months earlier there was a lot of happy talk about the growing relationship with Erdogan’s Turkey, and of course the conviction of normalization with Saudi Arabia.

Sorry, no. Here’s the bad news direct from Al-Arabiya.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged all nations during an extraordinary BRICS summit on Tuesday to cease weapon exports to Israel.

MBS reiterated the Kingdom’s rejection of Israel’s military operations in the Gaza Strip and demanded an immediate halt to them.

He said that the “brutal crimes” unfolding in Gaza demand a collective effort to bring them to an end.

Insider types will rush to claim that there are mixed messages here. And yes there are. MBS is saying this at a BRICS summit. Who’s shipping weapons to Israel from BRICS nations? And the Al-Arabiya article, unusually, notes that the war began when Hamas massacred Israelis. For those who want to read angles into everything, they will anyway.

But it really is time for people to remember that Saudi Arabia isn’t Israel’s friend or America’s friend. A lesson we should have learned after 9/11.

Yes, MBS has made some reforms that bring the country a little more livable for younger Muslims of his generation. Mostly women. And guys who like to party.

The Abraham Accords, impressive as they are, are still based around an alliance against Iran in a region where everyone is simultaneously an ally and an enemy.  I’ll take MBS over Qatar and Khashoggi’s handlers who’d like to go all-in on Al Qaeda, the Muslim Brotherhood and ISIS, as the lesser of evils, but let’s not forget the big picture here.

The Saudis are not our friends and they will never be our friends. Buyer beware.