Amid escalating tensions in the Middle East, now in its fourth week of conflict sparked by joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran last month, Saudi Arabia’s role Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is again under scrutiny, with several reports pointing to its growing influence on evolving regional dynamics.
In a recent New York Times report, Mohammed bin Salman, or MBS as he is called, urged US President Donald Trump to continue the war against Iran, calling it a “historic opportunity” to reshape Middle East.
In recent talks, the Saudi leader said Washington should seek to dismantle Iran’s hardline government, the report said, citing people briefed on the discussions.
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MBS reportedly argued that Iran posed a long-term threat to the Gulf states and that only a change in leadership in Tehran could eliminate that risk, the report said. Crown Prince he has also pushed for targeting Iran’s energy infrastructure and even floated the idea of deploying ground forces in some discussions, the report said, citing sources familiar with the US briefings.
Trump calls MBS a ‘warrior’
Saudi Arabia denied the claims. But, President Donald Trump praised Mohammed bin Salman, his close ally, on Tuesday after the NYT report. Asked whether the Saudi leader reportedly wants the war to continue, Trump praised MBS as a “warrior.”
“He’s a warrior. He’s fighting us, by the way. Saudi Arabia has been excellent,” Trump said
Not for the first time
This is not the first time that Saudi Arabia’s role in the current conflict has been discussed.
Two days after the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, a Washington Post report suggested that Donald Trump’s decision came after Mohammed bin Salman repeatedly lobbied him to make the move.
The decision followed weeks of lobbying by two key US allies in the Middle East“Israel and Saudi Arabia, the report said.
How did Saudi Arabia respond?
Saudi Arabia has publicly taken a more cautious stance amid these reports of private pressure on the US over the Iranian strikes. In official statements, the kingdom has reiterated its support for a peaceful solution and emphasized that its priority remains the defense of civilian infrastructure and halting ongoing attacks.
Saudi officials rejected claims that the crown prince was advocating a prolonged war.
“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always supported a peaceful solution to this conflict, even before it started,” the Saudi government said in a statement quoted by the newspaper.
Starmer-MBS talks
on Tuesday British Prime Minister Keir Starmer discussed the ongoing conflict in the Middle East with Mohammed bin Salman, a Downing Street spokesman said.
Starmer reiterated support for Saudi Arabia during the US-Israel war against Iran and briefed the Saudi crown prince on the deployment of additional UK defense military equipment, the spokesman said.
Read also | Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pushes Trump to continue war with Iran: Report
“The ongoing Iranian attacks, including attacks on critical national infrastructure, have been appalling,” Starmer said.
Four weeks of conflict
The conflict in West Asia is in its fourth week, disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions escalated after the killing of Iran’s 86-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameneiin joint US-Israeli military strikes on February 28.
In retaliation, Iran targeted Israeli and US assets in several Gulf countries, causing further disruption to the waterway and affecting international energy markets as well as global economic stability.
Iran faced widespread criticism from several Muslim countriesincluding Saudi Arabia, after it carried out retaliatory attacks on US and Israeli military bases located in several Arab neighboring countries following the US-Israeli attacks on Tehran.
Oil economy at the center of it
The conflict has already had an economic impact, particularly in the Middle East, after Iran’s retaliatory disruption of oil flows affected global energy markets.
Saudi Arabia is believed to be concerned about the risks posed by a destabilized or failed Iranian state. Through his ambitions, MBS wants to transform Saudi Arabia into a global investment and tourism hub The Vision 2030 reform agenda. That will depend on regional stability, analysts say.
Drone and missile attacks on Iran in 2019 Saudi Aramco oil processing facilities in Abqaiq and Khurais temporarily cut the kingdom’s oil output by 5.7 million barrels per day (mb/d). Saudi Arabia has recently embraced a diplomatic rapprochement with Iran, but the latest conflict in the region may have prompted the kingdom to take a different approach towards Iran.
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Regional officials warn that trust between the Gulf states and Iran has “completely broken down,” raising concerns about long-term instability regardless of how the conflict ends, the NYT report said.
A bit of history
For decades, both Iran and Saudi Arabia have vied for political and security influence in the Middle East, a competition that analysts often characterize as the “new Cold War.”
He is a warrior. By the way, he’s fighting us. Saudi Arabia was great.
In a sign of fragile detente, the power rivalry is based on religious and political identities – Saudi Arabia represents the predominantly Sunni Muslim world and considers itself guardian of Sunni Islamwhile Iran is a Shia Muslim state.
This sectarian division was often invoked by both sides in the regional contest. Diplomatic ties were severed between 2016 and 2023 due to incidents such as the execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr and attacks on Saudi diplomatic facilities in Iran.
