Saudi Arabia reportedly gave a stark warning to Iran to take President Donald Trump’s nuclear deal or face the consequences with a war in Israel, Reuters reported Friday.
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman in April spoke with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in order to defuse tensions between Israel and Iran, fearing Trump was nearing the end of his patience with the Islamic Republic, two Iranian officials and two Gulf sources told Reuters. Israel has pledged to strike Iranian nuclear facilities if a deal is not reached to curtail the nation’s nuclear ambitions, while Trump has been ambivalent on whether or not the U.S. would join Israel in the strikes.
“President Trump has made it clear: make a deal, or face grave consequences, and the whole world is clearly taking him seriously, as they should,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to Reuters.
Salman reportedly told Tehran officials that the Middle East could not survive further escalations given Israeli conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon, according to Reuters.
Saudi Arabia is a key player in a region fraught with conflict, having a tenuous relationship with Iran due to Tehran’s backing of Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have been locked in a protracted conflict with the Saudis for over a decade. However, Saudi Arabia still maintains diplomatic relationships with Iran, attempting to pursue normalization amid increased tensions in the region.
Iran currently has the capability to make nuclear weapons in three weeks’ time with its current stockpiles of 60% enriched uranium, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) stated in February.
While Trump promised in March to join Israel in a strike against Iran if talks broke down, there were reported internal schisms among interventionist and restraint-minded Trump administration officials on how to best approach Iran and its nuclear program.
On Wednesday, Iran said it was open to pausing nuclear enrichment if the U.S. unfreezes Iranian funds trapped in a Qatari bank, Iranian sources told Reuters.
The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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