Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman held a phone meeting on Wednesday to discuss the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. This meeting marked the first interaction between the two leaders following a deal mediated by China to restart relations between Tehran and Riyadh.
Iran president and Saudi prince speak: In response to a deadly attack by the Palestinian organisation Hamas in Israel, Israel launched airstrikes in the Gaza Strip at the same time that the two leaders called.
In their conversation, Raisi and the Saudi crown prince discussed the “need to put an end to war crimes against Palestine,” according to Iranian official media.
For his part, the Saudi crown prince “affirmed that the Kingdom is making all possible efforts in communicating with all international and regional parties to stop the ongoing escalation,” according to the Saudi state news agency SPA.
He also reaffirmed Saudi Arabia’s opposition to any form of civilian targeting, according to the SPA.
After seven years of antagonism that jeopardised Gulf stability and security and fueled crises from Yemen to Syria, Saudi Arabia and Iran decided to mend fences in March as part of an agreement mediated by China.
When asked about Raisi’s conversation with the crown prince, a senior State Department official from the United States stated that Riyadh was in “constant contact with Saudi leaders” and that Washington firmly supports Israel in its conflict with Hamas.
The official went on to say that the United States was requesting of its allies to “get Hamas to stand down from its attacks, to release hostages, keep Hezbollah out (and) keep Iran out of the fray” if they had any routes or connections to Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, or Iran.