Saudi Arabia has urged the US to seize the ‘historic opportunity’ to remake the Middle East, it was reported last night.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman is leaning on Donald Trump to continue the war against Iran, according to sources briefed by US officials.
The Saudi prince is said to view Iran as a long-term threat that will continue while the regime is in power.
It has left the kingdom’s de-facto leader ‘pushing’ Mr Trump to keep the campaign going, despite the US President saying he is ‘close to a deal’, the New York Times reported.
It comes after Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan said last week that its ‘patience with Iranian attacks is not unlimited’, although officials last night said they are pursuing peace, not war.
The United Arab Emirates is also cracking down on Iranian-owned assets while debating sending its military to the fight, said the Wall Street Journal.
The Pentagon is expected to announce a further deployment of 3,000 airborne soldiers to the Middle East.
These could be used to seize the strategically vital Kharg Island through which Iran exports 90 per cent of its crude oil.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (pictured with Donald Trump on May 13) is leaning on US leader to continue the war against Iran, according to sources briefed by US officials
Fires rage after an Iranian ballistic missile smashed into Tel Aviv yesterday after evading Israel’s defences
But last night, Mr Trump said the US was in negotiations with Iran ‘right now’, adding: ‘We’re talking to the right people and they want to make a deal so badly.’
The change in tone came after he pulled back from threats to ‘obliterate’ the Islamic Republic’s power plants on Monday and instead said he was ‘close to a deal’.
He called for a five-day ‘pause’ on energy strikes while both sides entered talks, claiming Iran was about to agree to ‘no more war’ and ‘no more nuclear weapons’.
The regime dismissed it as ‘fake news’, but there was some diplomatic movement yesterday ahead of possible talks in Pakistan.
But last night Tehran claimed the US and Israel had attacked its Bushehr nuclear plant, but there were no casualties or damage.
A senior Iranian foreign ministry official told CBS News ‘we received points from the US through mediators and they are being reviewed’.
Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt have reportedly been instrumental in pushing for both sides to de-escalate in calls with Mr Trump’s peace envoy Steve Witkoff and an unnamed Iranian representative over the weekend.
Pakistan said it ‘stands ready’ to host talks as early as this week that could see US vice president JD Vance meet with Iran’s Mohammad Ghalibaf, who is increasingly seen as a key figure in the regime.
He was yesterday promoted to become secretary of the national security council, replacing Ali Larijani who had briefly been considered Tehran’s de-facto ruler until he was assassinated last week.
After Mr Trump said he was talking with a ‘respected’ leader in Iran on Monday but declined to say who, observers speculated it was Ghalibaf – something he denied.
The Islamic Republic’s major general Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi yesterday vowed his forces ‘will continue until complete victory’.
Israel and Tehran continued to pound each other with rocket fire, with one missile hitting Tel Aviv.
The White House insisted there are ‘sensitive discussions’ ongoing but declined to ‘speculate’ further.
Yesterday there were electricity outages in Kuwait after shrapnel from an Iranian strike cut power lines.
Saudi Arabia said it shot down drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province and Lebanon was hit by Israeli air strikes.
Lebanon yesterday expelled Iran’s ambassador, Mohammad Reza Sheibani, and declared him persona non grata.
The country is considering talks with Israel as it appears to weigh up forcing out Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy.
Mr Trump yesterday said Iran had given the US a ‘big present worth a tremendous amount of money’, suggesting it was related to the Strait of Hormuz.
He told reporters: ‘It wasn’t nuclear, it was oil and gas-related, and it was a very nice thing they did.’
