Saudi Arabia\u2019s crown prince spoke to Donald Trump about the deepening crisis between Washington and Tehran, urging a renewed push for dialogue over further military escalation, hours before the United States president halted his latest attacks on Iran.<\/p>\n
The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on Sunday that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) spoke to Trump by phone and \u201cstressed the need to prioritise dialogue to reduce escalation and the importance of making every possible effort to achieve calm that paves the way for diplomatic solutions\u201d.<\/p>\n
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MBS also highlighted the need to preserve the Gulf\u2019s security and stability and prevent a wider conflict \u201cwhose repercussions would affect regional and international security and stability\u201d, SPA added.<\/p>\n
Trump announced on his Truth Social platform early on Sunday that he would hold off on new strikes<\/a> against Iran, citing the outline of a deal to end five months of war.<\/p>\n On Saturday, he had struck a very different note, declaring the US \u201clocked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran\u201d, at levels of force not seen \u201csince World War II\u201d.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n The reversal capped a day of dramatic swings in tone from Washington, after weeks in which the conflict has repeatedly threatened to widen into a broader Gulf confrontation.<\/p>\n Trump said he was calling off the planned attack only because Iran and other Middle Eastern governments had asked Washington to hold back, insisting \u201cthe perimeters<\/a> of a deal has been agreed to\u201d.<\/p>\n That deal, he wrote, would involve reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending Iran\u2019s \u201cnuclear threat,\u201d with Israel joining the US \u201cin this commitment\u201d.<\/p>\n Iranian state media quoted military officials dismissing Trump\u2019s claim that Tehran had sought a pause as \u201cnothing but a new lie\u201d, insisting Iranian forces remained on high alert.<\/p>\n \u2018Keep the dialogue going\u2019<\/p>\n The Saudi crown prince\u2019s intervention, according to a person familiar with the call cited by US media, centred on concern that a major US strike on Iran\u2019s energy infrastructure could trigger Iranian retaliation against Gulf oil and gas facilities.<\/p>\n