Saudi Arabia Denies Allegations of Encouraging U.S.-Iran War Escalation
By Habib Toumi
MANAMA: Saudi Arabia has denied claims that its leaderships has pushed for a prolonged war with Iran.
A Saudi source on Monday told Saudi TV Al Arabiya that a report by The New York Times claiming the Kingdom’s leadership had encouraged a prolonged conflict with Iran was false.
The report, published on Sunday, said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman “has been pushing President Trump to continue the war against Iran, arguing that the U.S.-Israeli military campaign presents a ‘historic opportunity’ to remake the Middle East.”
The newspaper attributed the claim to “people briefed by American officials on the conversations” without naming them.
However, the source speaking to Al Arabiya said the claim was incorrect.
On Wednesday, a senior official at the Saudi Foreign Ministry told Asharq Al Awsat daily that the Kingdom had previously denied claims that its leadership favors the prolongation of the US-Israeli war on Iran.
Earlier this month, the Saudi embassy in Washington had denied a report by The Washington Post that alleged that the Kingdom had privately lobbied Trump to launch strikes against Iran.
Saudi Arabia has been among the Gulf states seeking to prevent a wider military confrontation in the region and has publicly said it would not participate in any potential war.
As the United Nations Rights Council prepares to meet on Wednesday to discuss the attacks by Tehran, Iran has continued to target Gulf countries with rockets and drones in the fourth week of the war.
On Tuesday, Saudi defenses downed 44 drones in the Eastern Region, whileBahrain downed six ballistic missiles and 19 drones, and the UAE destroyed five missiles and 17 drones. Kuwait also repelled several attacks.
The UAE defense ministry said that a Moroccan civilian contractor affiliated with the Emirati military was killed in Bahrain in an Iranian attack. Manama said that the man had been assisting the local armed forces.
