MBS Urges Trump to Halt Massive Iran Strikes
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- Mohammed bin Salman urged Trump to de-escalate and refrain from launching massive new strikes against Iran during a Saturday phone call, with one U.S. official saying the Saudis asked for clarity about the plan of action.
- Trump is seriously considering attacking Iranian energy targets in the coming days in response to Iran's missile strike on a U.S. base in Jordan and its continued disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, though he has yet to issue final orders.
- Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Saudi Arabia that "any hostile action by the U.S. or Israel — or participation or cooperation by regional countries in such actions — would be met with a decisive and proportionate response from Iran's powerful armed forces."
- Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman met with Trump on Wednesday after telling Vice President Vance that Saudi Arabia favored de-escalation, with the message delivered despite this week's joint U.S.-Saudi strike against pro-Iranian militias in Iraq.
- Qatar, the UAE, Turkey, and Pakistan are also pressing both sides to de-escalate, and Qatari mediators held separate Saturday talks with Araghchi, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, and Omani officials in an effort to secure an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
- The White House and the Saudi embassy in Washington declined to comment on the call.
Why it matters: The five-month Iran war has repeatedly cycled between strikes and collapsed negotiations, and with Trump still weighing final orders, Riyadh's public push for de-escalation — delivered just days after a joint U.S.-Saudi strike on Iranian proxies in Iraq — could narrow the window or scope of any major attack. Iran's explicit threat of retaliation against Gulf states that participate adds a direct cost calculus for Saudi Arabia beyond diplomatic preference.
