US President Donald Trump met Saudi defence minister Prince Khalid bin Salman at the White House on Thursday to discuss de-escalation efforts with Iran, according to Fox News.
Prince Khalid, who is the younger brother of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, also held talks with White House envoy Steve Witkoff and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
The meeting took place ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Monday meeting with Trump at the White House.
Focus on de-escalation and peace:The meeting is crucial for Saudi Arabia as it wants to ease tensions in the region after the recent 12-day war between Israel and Iran. Talks also reportedly covered broader issues of ending the war in Gaza, negotiating the release of remaining hostages and working toward Middle East peace.
The Trump administration wants to push for a historic peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel in the coming months. Fox news quoting their sources suggested that the meeting was not only about normalizing ties of Saudi Arabia with Israel but also about necessary steps required to reach it.
The meeting comes just days after Trump said other countries have expressed interest in joining the Abraham Accords. The recent Middle East conflict dubbed the “12-Day War” saw Israel and the US target Iran’s nuclear sites.
Strengthening the Abraham Accords:The Abraham Accords, signed at the White House in September 2020 during Trump’s first term are a set of agreements that aimed to normalize relations between United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
US special envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff said on June 25 that expanding the accords is one of the president’s “key objectives” and predicted “big announcements” about new countries joining soon.
Last week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt named Syria as one of the nations Trump is eager to bring into the accords, noting their historic meeting in Saudi Arabia earlier this year during the US President’s visit to the Middle East.
Saudi-Iran dialogue:The Saudi defence minister spoke on the phone with Iran’s Chief of the General Staff, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi on June 29.
“We discussed developments in the region and the efforts being made to maintain security and stability,” Bin Salman wrote on X.
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Witkoff is also planning to meet Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi in Oslo next week to restart nuclear talks, according to Axios.
The Iranian foreign ministry said Araghchi spoke on the phone Thursday with Norwegian foreign minister Espen Eide to discuss efforts to ease regional tensions.
Trump on Iran talks:Speaking to local media on Thursday, Trump said Iran wants to initiate talks with the US and “it is time that they do.” He added that the US does not want to hurt Iran.
“I know they want to meet and if it is necessary I will do it,” Trump said.
Iran’s conditions for talks:In an email interview with ANI, Iran’s Ambassador to India, Iraj Elahi, said any negotiations with the US are meaningless unless Washington offers a “credible guarantee” to prevent future acts of aggression by Israel and the US.
“As for negotiations with the United States, considering their betrayal of diplomacy and complicity with the Zionist regime in launching illegal attacks on Iran, while a diplomatic process was still ongoing, there will be no meaning or value in any talks unless a credible guarantee is provided to prevent the recurrence of such acts of aggression,” he said.
Elahi was referring to two major military operations last month. On June 13, Israel launched “Operation Rising Lion,” carrying out widespread airstrikes on Iranian soil that targeted nuclear sites at Natanz and Fordow and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) command bases. Several senior IRGC commanders and nuclear scientists were reportedly killed.
This was followed by US strikes on June 21–22 under “Operation Midnight Hammer,” which also targeted Iranian nuclear infrastructure. Iran has strongly condemned both operations as blatant violations of international law and the UN Charter.
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