Saudi Arabia’s defense minister informed Iranian officials that failure to strike a nuclear agreement with the US could prompt an Israeli attack, multiple sources told Reuters. Washington and Tehran have struggled to reach a new deal since President Donald Trump scrapped the last pact in 2018.
The “covert message” was relayed by the Saudi defense chief, Prince Khalid bin Salman, during a visit to Iran in mid-April, Reuters reported on Friday, citing two unnamed Iranian officials and two sources close to the government in Riyadh.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and armed forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri were all reportedly present for the meeting, which marked the first visit to Iran by a senior Saudi royal in nearly 30 years.
According to the sources, bin Salman warned the Iranian leadership that US President Donald Trump had “little patience for drawn-out negotiations” and that the “window for diplomacy would close fast” if a deal was not reached “quickly.” He went on to raise “the possibility of an Israeli attack” should the talks break down, Reuters added.
While the Fars News agency reported that Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei had contested the Reuters story in comments to journalists later on Friday, the outlet provided no additional details.
The prospect of Israeli military action against Iran has been raised repeatedly throughout the ongoing nuclear talks with the US, with American officials telling the New York Times that they are concerned Tel Aviv could launch an attack with little notice. Though a US intelligence assessment questioned whether a unilateral Israeli strike would be effective, some Israeli officials have argued that Washington “would have no choice but to assist Israel militarily if Iran counterattacked,” the Times reported.
Earlier this week, Trump said he had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on such an attack, stating it “would be inappropriate to do right now because we’re very close to a solution” in the nuclear talks.
“Now, that could change at any moment. It could change with a phone call. But right now, I think they want to make a deal. And, if we can make a deal, [it would] save a lot of lives,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday.
However, the Trump administration has offered mixed messages about the ongoing negotiations, with the president at times threatening direct US military action against Tehran should the talks fail. Earlier this week, the president even argued that a revived nuclear deal must allow Washington to “go in with inspectors” at any time and “blow up whatever we want.”
Though some US officials have insisted the Islamic Republic must completely dismantle its uranium enrichment program as part of any new deal – echoing Israel’s stance – Iran has categorically rejected that demand. On Thursday, Iran’s top diplomat said his country remained open to negotiations, but added that a fresh agreement must “fully terminate all sanctions and uphold Iran’s nuclear rights – including enrichment.”
Will Porter is assistant news editor and book editor at the Libertarian Institute, and a regular contributor at Antiwar.com. Find more of his work at Consortium News and ZeroHedge.
