US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman have held urgent talks on the regional situation after the two countries’ joint attack on Iraq.
According to the report of Middle East Eye, according to the information of a US official, the meeting was held between them on Wednesday (July 29).
The meeting with Trump was added to the Saudi defense minister’s itinerary after a meeting with Vice President JD Vance, Axios reports. In the discussion with Vance, he said that Saudi Arabia is in favor of reducing tensions with Iran.
Meanwhile, the United States and Saudi Arabia launched a joint attack on pro-Iranian Iraqi militias this week.
According to a source related to the matter, the main purpose of these meetings was to convey a message about the ongoing conflict with Iran and the overall situation in the Middle East on behalf of Saudi Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Saudi Arabia is one of the main allies of the United States in the region. Although tensions have flared between the two countries at various times over the past five months, Riyadh has been able to influence Trump’s Iran policy more than once since the war began.
Prince Khalid, brother and close confidant of Prince Mohammed, was scheduled to visit Washington last week. However, he postponed that visit due to the attack on Iraq.
Last Tuesday, the Saudi military and the US Central Command jointly launched an attack against pro-Iranian militias in Iraq.
According to CENTCOM, the attack was carried out in response to more than 30 drone strikes against various targets in Saudi Arabia by militias under the direction of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Later, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Defense also confirmed that it took part in the attack and said it was carried out in coordination with CENTCOM.
TimesBD/ rabbi
