Washington (TDI): Saudi Defense Minister Khalid Bin Salman called on the US President Donald Trump in a reportedly ‘secret’ meeting on Thursday, as per Fox News.
They discussed the situation in Mideast after recent confrontation dubbed as ‘12 day war’ between Iran and Israel, and exchanged views over the Abraham Accords. Both sides also explored the options of ceasefire in Gaza.
Why this meeting matters
This meeting came about at a crucial time, as several key events are taking place in the Mideast. Iran and Israel recently went through a direct war and tensions were all time high which Saudi Arabia seeks to de-escalate.
Saudi Arabia is already in talks with the US for a historic defense deal. Also, this meeting is relevant to the discussions regarding Abraham Accords.
Trump announced in May that more countries will follow suit and join Abraham accords, a normalization deal between Israel, Gulf states and North African countries which remains on high agenda of the current US administration.
Moreover, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit the US on Monday, so talks regarding a ceasefire in Gaza are likely to have taken place in the meeting.
To go back in time, there was already an expectation of Saudi Arabia joining United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan in normalization with Israel which got delayed by the October 7 attack and Israel’s subsequent war on Gaza.Â
Post-meeting takeaways
The White House Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also met with the Saudi Defense Minister. They discussed peace, stability and other key developments in the region.
Witkoff is set to meet Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Oslo to restart the nuclear talks, as they were suspended in the wake of Israel’s attack on Iran.Â
Moreover, the Saudi Foreign Minister also had a call with the Chief of Iran’s Armed Forces, Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi.Â
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