The United States is close to finishing a security pact with Saudi Arabia that would be offered if it makes peace with Israel, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday.

"The work that Saudi Arabia, the United States have been doing together in terms of our own agreements, I think, is potentially very close to completion," Blinken said at a meeting of the World Economic Forum in Riyadh.

Blinken also renewed U.S. opposition to an Israeli operation on Gaza's city of Rafah, saying that "we have not yet seen a plan that gives us confidence, that civilians can be effectively protected."

(With input from AFP)