Saudi Arabia is urging Donald Trump to deploy US troops on the ground in Iran and take advantage of a ‘historic opportunity’ to remake the Middle East, it has been reported.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has personally pushed Trump to press on with the war in a series of conversations over the last week, according to the New York Times.
People familiar with the discussions told the newspaper the Saudi leader, known as MBS, has argued Iran poses a long-term threat to Gulf nations which can only be removed by regime change.
It comes as Trump told US media outlets Tehran had undergone ‘regime change’ after more than three weeks of conflict with many high-ranking officials killed including former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Meanwhile countries across the world are warning the global fuel crisis is now ‘critical’ as emergency measures are introduced in response to the Iran war.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has declared the time has come for negotiations with Iran to reopen the blocked Strait of Hormuz given the perilous energy situation around the globe.
Saudi Arabia urges Trump to grab ‘historic opportunity’ for regime change in Iran
Saudi Arabia‘s leader has urged Donald Trump to deploy ground troops in Iran and believes the war is a ‘historic opportunity’ for regime change.
Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) urged Trump in several calls over the past week to keep fighting Iran, attempting to persuade the President that the job could not be left half finished, sources told the New York Times.
The pressure comes as Trump announced a five-day halt to US strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure while Washington pursued back-channel talks with Tehran through intermediaries, signaling he may be looking for a way out.
The Saudi Crown Prince made the case that Iran’s government will pose a long-term threat to the region if it isn’t completely wiped out, the officials said.
MBS urged Trump to send troops into Iran to take over the country’s energy infrastructure and to force the current government out of power, the sources added.
Trump expressed concerns that escalating further could push oil prices even higher, with the national average gas price hitting $4.00 per gallon on Monday, up from $2.90 when the war began on February 28.
MBS’s private views contrast with Saudi’s public statements that highlight the kingdom’s desire for a diplomatic end to the war, which has led to retaliatory strikes on its energy sites and strangled its oil exports.
‘The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always supported a peaceful resolution to this conflict,’ a Saudi spokesman said in a statement, adding its officials ‘remain in close contact with the Trump administration and our commitment remains unchanged.’
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reportedly urged Trump to send ground troops into Iran
The Prince has advocated for regime change in Iran, noting how if the current government stays in place it will continue to destabilize the Gulf region
Iran has targeted Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones since the US and Israel first struck the Islamic Republic on February 28
Saudi Arabia‘s leader has urged Donald Trump to deploy ground troops in Iran and believes the war is a ‘historic opportunity’ for regime change.
Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) urged Trump in several calls over the past week to keep fighting Iran, attempting to persuade the President that the job could not be left half finished, sources told the New York Times.
The pressure comes as Trump announced a five-day halt to US strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure while Washington pursued back-channel talks with Tehran through intermediaries, signaling he may be looking for a way out.
The Saudi Crown Prince made the case that Iran’s government will pose a long-term threat to the region if it isn’t completely wiped out, the officials said.
MBS urged Trump to send troops into Iran to take over the country’s energy infrastructure and to force the current government out of power, the sources added.
Trump expressed concerns that escalating further could push oil prices even higher, with the national average gas price hitting $4.00 per gallon on Monday, up from $2.90 when the war began on February 28.
MBS’s private views contrast with Saudi’s public statements that highlight the kingdom’s desire for a diplomatic end to the war, which has led to retaliatory strikes on its energy sites and strangled its oil exports.
‘The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has always supported a peaceful resolution to this conflict,’ a Saudi spokesman said in a statement, adding its officials ‘remain in close contact with the Trump administration and our commitment remains unchanged.’
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reportedly urged Trump to send ground troops into Iran
The Prince has advocated for regime change in Iran, noting how if the current government stays in place it will continue to destabilize the Gulf region
Iran has targeted Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones since the US and Israel first struck the Islamic Republic on February 28
‘Our primary concern today is to defend ourselves from the daily attacks on our people and our civilian infrastructure,’ the spokesman added.
‘Iran has chosen dangerous brinkmanship over serious diplomatic solutions. This harms every stakeholder involved but none more than Iran itself.’
The Daily Mail has contacted the White House for comment.
Senior Saudi and American officials fear Iran could further punish Riyadh’s oil facilities with strikes and drag the US into ‘an endless war’ if the fighting continues, according to the Times.
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While the kingdom maintains a stockpile of Patriot missile interceptors to defend against Iranian drone and missile strikes, several bombardments have seeped through the Saudi air defenses.
Saudi oil fields, refineries and cities have all been hit with Iranian weapons. So too has the US embassy in Riyadh, prompting the US to evacuate the mission.
But Trump signaled on Monday that the war could be nearing a conclusion, noting that negotiations had begun with Iran, including ‘productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities.’
Iran denied that talks were taking place.
An Iranian official told Fars News Agency, which is aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, there is ‘no direct or indirect contact with Trump.’
If those talks go sideways and Iran doesn’t cooperate, Trump said US forces will keep ‘bombing our little hearts out.’
Striking video shows the moment Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh was targeted by missiles
Thousands of US Marines have been deployed to the Middle East in recent weeks, with at least two units totaling over 4,500 personnel ordered to head towards Iran.
Around 2,500 Marines aboard three ships were deployed to the Middle East late last week, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.
A week earlier, the USS Tripoli, carrying over 2,000 Marines, was ordered to leave the Pacific and head to the region.
Senior military officials are also considering a possible deployment of a combat brigade from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division to support military inside in Iran.
That would provide the military with 3,000 soldiers for a possible invasion of Kharg Island – where 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports are processed.
Oil prices rose on Tuesday, with Brent crude – the global benchmark – hitting $104 per barrel as optimism about an early resolution to the conflict faded.
Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been urging US President Donald Trump to continue the war against Iran, The New York Times reports, citing people briefed by American officials.
Bin Salman has spoken to Trump several times over the past week, pushing the president to keep fighting until the regime in Iran is toppled, according to the report. The Saudi prince sees Iran as a long-term threat that will persist as long as the Islamic Republic exists. He also believes that Iran could continue to target Saudi Arabia and threaten shipping after the war, the newspaper says.
According to the Times, bin Salman fears a failed Iranian state, with military factions continuing to strike the kingdom.
But, according to the sources, MBS wants to see US strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure in order to weaken the regime. He even advocated for US boots on the ground in order to take control of energy sites and topple the regime, they said.
He has told Trump that spikes in oil prices are only temporary.
Recognition of the need to further degrade Iran’s military capabilities is widespread enough that multiple Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are considering joining the US and Israeli strikes against Iran, a senior Gulf official told The Times of Israel last week.
