Saudi Arabia intensifies engagement with Iran to defuse war

Saudi Arabia has stepped up direct engagement with Iran to try and contain a war in the Middle East that is causing havoc and stressing global markets, according to several European officials.

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In recent days, Saudi officials have deployed their diplomatic backchannel to Iran with greater urgency to de-escalate tensions and prevent the conflict from worsening, the officials said, asking not to be named discussing private and sensitive conversations. Several European and Middle Eastern nations are backing these efforts, according to these officials.

The talks have involved security agencies and diplomats, they added, but it isn’t clear whether they have included higher-ranking officials. So far, Iran has shown little inclination to negotiate with the US or Israel.

The Saudis are in communication with the Iranian ambassador to Riyadh on a near daily basis to reiterate that the kingdom’s territory is not being used by the US or anyone else to attack Iran, said another person with knowledge of the situation. Saudi Arabia is also saying to Iran that if it keeps up its attacks, the kingdom may be forced to retaliate, the person said. Still, Saudi authorities don’t have high confidence they can stop the war at this stage, the person said.

Officials at the Saudi foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment.

Iran has responded to US-Israel strikes that began on Feb. 28 with missile and drone attacks of its own. Gulf states have urged Iran to avoid retaliating against them and the likes of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have said the US and Israel cannot use their airspace or territory for any attacks on the Islamic Republic.

The Gulf Cooperation Council, which Saudi Arabia is part of, said last weekend its members affirmed their right to respond to Iran in “self-defense, either individually or collectively.”

For now, the US and Israel, as well as Iran, are saying in public the war will continue. American President Donald Trump said Friday he will only accept Tehran’s “unconditional surrender.”

The US “must take such a dream to the grave,” Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday.

Sunni Arab states in the Gulf have long had tense relations with Iran, a Shia-majority country. Still, in recent years, Saudi Arabia and the UAE had sought to improve relations and, before hostilities started, were keen for Iran to agree a diplomatic deal with the US through talks mediated by Oman.

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