Saudi Arabia urges Trump to give Iran diplomacy more time before any new strikes
Senior Saudi officials have asked the Trump administration to give negotiations with Iran more time before any decision on renewed military action, regional sources say, fearing retaliation against Saudi oil and infrastructure.
Saudi Arabia has asked the Trump administration to "give diplomacy a chance" and allow more time for negotiations with Iran before the US president makes a final decision on launching renewed military action, two regional sources told the Jerusalem Post, in reporting also carried by Reuters.
The Saudi appeal followed a visit to Tehran days earlier by a delegation of the Mecca defence pact countries - including Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman alongside Turkish and Pakistani officials - for meetings with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and security chief Mohsen Rezaei. During those meetings, the Saudis also conveyed a request that, should the conflict resume, Tehran refrain from targeting key Saudi oil and gas facilities.
Riyadh's concern, the sources said, is that if Washington strikes Iran, the Revolutionary Guard and the Iranian military could retaliate against Saudi Arabia itself, including its water and electricity infrastructure and facilities linked to the oil and energy sectors. A US official separately told Axios that Saudi officials informed the White House that Iran was worried about a possible US-Israeli bombing campaign after the elections, and urged Trump not to rush into another war.
The Saudi intervention is part of a wider regional mediation effort led by Qatar, with support from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt and Türkiye. Qatari negotiator Ali al-Thawadi has been in Tehran this week, and mediators are pressing Iran to accept proposals - including the return of UN inspectors to bombed nuclear sites - that might avert major attacks after the 3 November US midterm elections.
Trump told Axios on Wednesday that negotiations with Iran were taking place through intermediaries, but said he did not know whether they would succeed, insisting Washington wanted to "finish the job" either through a deal or by other means. Iranian officials have said they will seek Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's approval for the mediators' proposals in the coming days.
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