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CNN has learned that Saudi Arabia is open to mediating between the Trump administration and Iran in pursuit of a new contract to limit Tehran’s nuclear program.
The kingdom is concerned that Iran may be inclined to pursue nuclear weapons as proxies in the region, which were seen as deterrent to Israeli attacks, have been significantly weakened. Saudi Arabia hopes to leverage its close ties with President Donald Trump to provide Iran with a diplomatic bridge to the White House.
It is unclear whether Saudi Arabia has made a formal offer, but the move marks Riyadh’s desire to secure a seat at the negotiation table for a potential New Deal, based on improved relations with its previous enemy. It emphasizes.
Trump says he wants to join talks for a new deal, but messages from Iran are mixed in, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last week that talks with the US were “not smart” It’s.
The US State Department and the Saudi Department of Foreign Affairs did not respond to CNN’s request for comment. Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York said there was no comment.
Saudi Arabia publicly welcomed the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the world’s great powers, but the Obama administration addressed concerns about Tehran’s regional activities, particularly missile programs and proxy groups from Yemen to Iraq and Lebanon. I personally saw what I didn’t do. To regional stability. He then welcomed Trump’s withdrawal from the 2018 deal.
A year after Trump’s withdrawal, Saudi oil facilities suffered from major drone and missile attacks that temporarily cut rough production in half of the world’s largest oil exporter. Yemen’s Iran-backed Hooty Group argued for responsibility, but the US denounced Iran – ultimately halting a shortage of military action defending Saudi allies.
However, tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran have been significantly eased since then. In March 2023, the two countries made a surprising announcement to normalize their relationship with a China-brokered agreement. Saudi officials see the deal as a major success, believing that Riyadh is enjoying its benefits. Hooti’s attacks on Saudi territory have halted, and the kingdom was spared last year in an offensive strike between Israel and Iran. If its own facility is attacked by Israel, then it will be a Gulf Arab oil facility.
Over the past 15 months, Israel has significantly weakened Iranian-ally allied groups in Lebanon and Gaza, attacking targets in Syria, Iraq and Yemen. Coupled with the collapse of Syrian Assad’s regime, these developments have taken a serious blow to Iran’s ability to project power across borders.
Saudi officials have argued that they view the current region’s landscape as a historic opportunity to dismantle tensions with Iran and improve ties, and that they do not want to engage in conflicts between the US and Israel.
They are also concerned that cornered Tehran may be willing to develop a nuclear bomb, and they are looking at a new nuclear agreement as a way to prevent it. They do not believe that a significantly weakened Iran will serve Saudi Arabia’s interests as Riyadh readjust its foreign policy and views economic benefits and further regional instability as obstacles to progress.
Since taking office for the second time, Trump has said he wants a new contract with Iran. He reluctantly doubled the state’s sanctions over the nuclear program, saying he “loves” him to reach deals and improve relations.
“I want to be a great and successful country for Iran, but it cannot have nuclear weapons. The United States, which works in partnership with Israel, reports that it will blow Iran to the blacksmiths.
He continued. “I would prefer a verified nuclear peace agreement. We need to start work soon and make a great Middle Eastern celebration when signed and completed. God bless the Middle East!”
President Masuud Pezeshkian, who took office last year on a global settlement platform as Iran’s economy was crippled by US sanctions, has now seen a plunge of currency, a massive slump from his reform base and ordinary Iranians. There is a strong pressure to tackle young people’s unemployment and chronic power outages.
However, the signal from Tehran is mixed. Pezeshkian and other Iranian officials have repeatedly expressed their willingness to engage with the Trump administration in new deals, saying dialogue could continue on “other issues.”
However, on Monday, Pezeschkian questioned Trump’s integrity in seeking a new nuclear deal. And last week, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who holds the ultimate authority over state issues, declared that consultations with the United States were “unwise, wise or honorable.” However, he had not banned communications with Washington entirely.
Firas Maksad, a senior fellow at Washington’s Middle East Institute, said that while Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy is fixed in a strategic partnership with the US, Riyadh’s foreign policy will “diversify choices regionally and internationally.” He stated that he is trying to diversify internationally with flexibility, flexibility and flexibility. Pragmatism when the situation directs.”
“The willingness to mediate President Trump and Iran allows the kingdom to tacitly distance itself from Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against Tehran,” he told CNN.
However, he said that given the prolonged lack of trust between Saudi Arabia and Iran, “it’s unlikely to develop beyond diplomatic signals.”
Riyadh’s relationship with Trump – and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS)’s influence on him is tested by a controversial plan for the US to “take over and expel the Palestinian population.” The proposal could derail Saudi Arabia-Israel’s normalization, and both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actively pursued it.
Last week, Trump wrote an optimistic note about normalizing Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia responded quickly, firmly rejecting plans that include the movement of Palestine, and reaffirming that normalization would not take place without the Palestinian state.
Still, relations between Saudi Arabia and Trump remain strong. While other US allies have stepped carefully to avoid provoking him, the Kingdom’s international profile and influence could continue to grow under Trump.
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