Saudi defense minister holds urgent meeting with Vance after Iraq strikes

Saudi Arabia's Defense Minister sent a careful message to the Trump administration on Wednesday: military strikes don't signal escalation. Per Axios, Prince Khalid bin Salman met with Vice President Vance at the White House to clarify that, despite joint U.S.-Saudi airstrikes on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq the day before, Saudi Arabia still prioritizes de-escalation with Iran. The strikes were a response to more than thirty drone attacks against Saudi infrastructure over the previous three days. The Saudi message was direct: those attacks crossed a red line and required a military response, but that response doesn't signal a hunger for further conflict. The timing is significant. Netanyahu met with Trump just before, and according to sources familiar with the meeting, pushed for escalation while Saudi Arabia argued the opposite approach is more fruitful. The kingdom also signaled it can manage its own conflicts with Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen without U.S. involvement and is even negotiating with them directly.

Listen to this story

Hear this and more stories in a personalized audio briefing.

Open The Chonkerton