Saudi leaders unofficially support possible US strike on Iran - media

Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman said at a private briefing in Washington that if US President Donald Trump does not implement his threats against Iran, the regime will only get stronger.

Itwas reported by Axios, citing four sources who attended the meeting.

According to the publication, the position of the Saudi Defense Minister during a closed meeting with experts and representatives of Jewish organizations differed significantly from the kingdom's public statements. Officially, Riyadh warned against escalation and called for a diplomatic solution to the conflict, which was one of the reasons for the postponement of the American strike.

On Thursday, Prince Khalid held closed-door meetings at the White House with key Trump administration officials: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine. The main topic of discussion was a potential US strike on Iran.

According to Axios sources, Riyadh's change of position is due to the belief that Trump has already decided to strike. The Saudis do not want to be in opposition to Washington's actions, despite public statements about "respect for Iran's sovereignty."

At the same time, representatives of the Persian Gulf region note that the situation is stalemate. On the one hand, the US strike carries great risks of escalation, on the other hand, the refusal to fulfill the forecast will lead to the fact that "Iran will come out of this stronger."

"At this stage, if this (strike - ed.) doesn't happen, it will only give the regime more courage," the sources quote bin Salman as saying.