Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made multiple private phone calls to US President Donald Trump last month, urging him to launch military action against Iran, even as he publicly favoured diplomacy, according to a report by The Washington Post.
The report said the crown prince pressed for a strike despite earlier public statements in January in which he insisted Saudi Arabia would not allow its airspace or territory to be used for attacks on Iran. At the time, he called for dialogue between Washington and Tehran and said Riyadh respected Iran’s sovereignty.
The US and Israel went on to carry out joint strikes targeting Iranian military and government sites after nuclear talks stalled and amid claims that Tehran had resumed aspects of its nuclear programme. President Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue for as long as necessary.
The escalation quickly widened into a regional confrontation. Iran launched retaliatory attacks on Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, Doha in Qatar, and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as “blatant and cowardly Iranian attacks,” saying they could not be justified “under any pretext.” The statement added that the attacks came despite Riyadh’s repeated assurances that it would not permit its territory to be used to target Iran.
According to Arab News, the crown prince subsequently spoke with regional leaders, including UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Qatar’s Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, Kuwait’s Emir Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and Jordan’s King Abdullah II. He expressed solidarity and pledged Saudi Arabia’s readiness to mobilise resources to support them against what he called Iranian aggression.
The crisis intensified further after Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in the US-Israeli strikes. Iranian state television and IRNA confirmed his death, while President Trump said it offered Iranians their “greatest chance” to reclaim their country.
In response, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned of its “most intense offensive operation” yet, targeting Israel and US bases in the region.
The reported behind-the-scenes lobbying by the Saudi crown prince adds a new dimension to the conflict, suggesting that regional alignments may be more complex than public statements indicate. With Iran’s top leadership decapitated and retaliatory strikes underway, the Middle East now faces one of its most volatile moments in decades.
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