Trump meets Saudi defence minister at White House after joint Iraq strikes
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Trump meets Saudi defence minister at White House after joint Iraq strikes")
US President Donald Trump and Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Photograph: (AFP)
Trump met Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman at the White House after joint Iraq strikes. The Saudi minister stressed Riyadh wants de-escalation with Iran despite being ready to defend itself.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (Jul 29) reportedly met with Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman after the two countries carried out joint strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq. While the Saudi minister had a planned meeting with Vice President JD Vance, talks with Trump were also added later. Despite the strikes in Iraq, Prince Khalid signalled that Saudi Arabia prefers de-escalation.
According to an Axios report, citing a source familiar with the meeting, the purpose of the Washington visit was on Saudi’s position on war with Iran and the situation in the region. The visit by Prince Khalid, the brother and close confidant of MBS, was delayed by a week due to strikes in Iraq.
“The Crown Prince wanted to convey to Vance that the strikes in Iraq don’t mean that Saudi Arabia is pro-escalation but rather that it is ready to defend itself if needed,” the source told the outlet. “Prince Khalid told Vance that Netanyahu is pushing for escalation with Iran while Saudi Arabia wants de-escalation because it is a more fruitful path.”
The Saudi defence minister’s visit to the White House came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with the US president. During the meeting, Netanyahu discussed the situation in Saudi Arabia “in the context of regional challenges.
US-Saudi joint strikes
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Earlier on Tuesday (Jul 28), US Central Command (CENTCOM) and Saudi military launched strikes against pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. CENTCOM said that the attack was carried out in response to more than 30 drone attacks on US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure, which the US military claimed were conducted by Iran-aligned groups on the direction of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
In a statement, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) or Hashed al-Shaabi, a former paramilitary alliance now integrated into the country’s security forces, said that at least 20 members “were martyred and another 32 wounded according to a preliminary toll.”
The PMF condemned the strikes as a “dangerous escalation” and accused Washington and Riyadh of violating Iraq’s sovereignty by targeting what it described as official security institutions.
The alliance was formed in 2014 to fight jihadists and was later integrated into Iraq’s armed forces. However, several Iran-backed factions within the PMF have continued to operate independently and have been accused of carrying out attacks against US interests in the region.
The strikes come amid rising tensions in the Middle East, where Iraq has often found itself caught between its two major allies – Washington and Tehran. Iran-backed armed groups have previously claimed hundreds of attacks on US bases in Iraq and across the region.
Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, who assumed office this year with US support, has pledged to bring pro-Iran armed factions under greater state control and push for weapons to be handed over. However, the move has faced resistance from powerful groups within the country.
The Iraqi PM also called off a planned Thursday meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah after the strikes, Reuters reported.
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