While some would like Operation Epic Fury to end, the same canât be said for Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
A report in The New York Times on Tuesday morning indicated the crown prince has been âpushingâ President Donald Trump to keep the war against Iran going.
The crown prince told Trump Iranâs regime âposes a long-term threat to the Gulfâ and must be eliminated during multiple conversations last week, according to multiple American officials who spoke to The Times.
âTrump has at times seemed open to winding down the war, but Prince Mohammed has argued that would be a mistake, the people briefed on the conversations said, and has pressed for attacks against Iranâs energy infrastructure to weaken the government in Tehran,â the report said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said she âdoes not comment on the presidentâs private conversations.â
Part of the report follows:
âIn recent days, Mr. Trump has given more serious consideration to a military operation to seize Kharg Island, the hub of Iranâs oil infrastructure. Such an operation, with airborne Army forces or an amphibious assault by Marines, would be immensely dangerous,â per the report.
âBut Prince Mohammed has advocated ground operations in his conversations with Mr. Trump, according to people briefed by American officials.â
The report comes as Trump has indicate the war could be over soon.
Trump has said the war is ahead of the timeline he set and he is now negotiating with whatâs left of Iranâs leadership on a deal.
He gave Iran a 48-hour deadline on Saturday to âFULLY OPENâ the Strait of Hormuz and threatened to start bombing the countryâs power plants.
On Monday morning he said his administration had âVERY GOODâ talks with Iranâs regime about ending the strikes and extended the deadline to five days.
