DUBAI: Saudi Arabia’s defence minister delivered a blunt message to Iranian
officials in Tehran last month: take President Donald Trump’s offer to negotiate a nuclear
agreement seriously because it presents a way to avoid the risk of war with Israel.
Alarmed at the prospect of further instability in the region, Saudi Arabia’s 89-year-old King
Salman bin Abdulaziz dispatched his son, Prince Khalid bin Salman, with the warning destined for Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, according to two Gulf sources close to government circles and two Iranian officials.
Present at the closed-door meeting in Tehran, which took place on April 17 in the presidential compound, were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, armed forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the sources said. While media covered the 37-year-old prince’s visit, the content of the King Salman’s covert message has not been previously reported.
Prince Khalid, who was Saudi ambassador to Washington during Trump’s first term, warned Iranian officials that the US leader has little patience for drawn-out negotiations, according to the four sources.
Trump had unexpectedly announced just over a week earlier that direct talks were taking place with Tehran, aimed at curbing Iran’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. He did so in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had travelled to Washington hoping instead to win support for attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.
In Tehran, Prince Khalid told the group of senior Iranian officials that Trump’s team would want to reach a deal quickly, and the window for diplomacy would close fast, according to the four sources. The Saudi minister said it would be better to reach a deal with the US than face the possibility of an Israeli attack if the talks broke down, according to the two Gulf sources.
He argued that the region – already riven by recent conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon – could not withstand a further escalation in tensions, said the two Gulf sources and one senior foreign diplomat familiar with the discussions.
