Saudi foreign minister urges Iran to de-escalate regional tensions

Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat on Thursday said the kingdom's relationship with regional arch-rival Iran was on the mend and Riyadh hoped Tehran would take steps to defuse its simmering conflict with Israel.

“What I hear from the Iranians is that they are indeed very much keyed into the fact that a continuing cycle of escalation is not in their interest,” Faisal bin Farhan al Saud said at a major investment conference in the Saudi capital.

“I do hope that they are translating that into actually practical steps,” he added, adding that Saudi diplomacy aims at heading off future conflicts.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi toured Arab capitals this month to drum up support ahead of an Israeli military response to a missile barrage Tehran launched on the Jewish state on Oct. 1.

That attack came over the weekend and killed four Iranian soldiers and a civilian but appeared to bypass the airspace of Arab countries astride the Persian Gulf.

China brokered a rapprochement between the regional heavyweights in March 2023 which restored their diplomatic ties and cooled somewhat the conflicts pitting Riyadh and its armed allies against Iran-backed armed groups in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.

Saudi Arabia has moderated its tough stance toward Iran following a 2019 missile strike on its key refinery at Abqaiq, which briefly shut down more than 5% of global oil supply. Iran denied involvement.

Discussing broader regional tensions, Prince Faisal urged all involved parties to act cautiously, saying: “The only way for us to find a pathway…is for everybody to make a conscious decision that further escalation is risky for all parties.”

“Without finding a pathway to a ceasefire in Gaza, I think we continue to risk intended and unintended cycles of escalation."

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said this year that the kingdom would not normalize its relations with Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state.

The Biden Administration had been working for months to broker a peace agreement between Saudi Arabia and Israel. A deal appeared close last year but lapsed after October 7, 2023, when Iran-backed Palestinian militants led by Hamas attacked Israel, sparking more than a year of war.

Turning to Saudi Arabia’s relationship with the United States, Bin Farhan said the strategic partnership remains strong and beneficial, particularly in security and economic matters.

Despite initial turbulence between the United States and Saudi Arabia at the beginning of President Joe Biden's term, Prince Faisal said ties were now better than ever.

“Today, the working relationship with the US is among the best we’ve ever had, including in the national security space,” he said.