The leaders of Iran and Saudi Arabia spoke on the phone Wednesday to unite in support of Palestine — their first communication since agreeing to end seven years of hostilities earlier this year.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi discussed the “need to end war crimes against Palestine,” according to Iran’s state news agency.
Mohammed said his nation was “communicating with all international and regional parties to stop the ongoing escalation” started by Hamas terrorists slaughtering more than 1,300 Israelis, Saudi state news agency SPA said.
Despite that unprecedented horror, the Saudi ruler reiterated his “kingdom’s firm position towards supporting the Palestinian cause,” SPA reported.
He also reiterated Saudi Arabia’s rejection of targeting civilians in any way, SPA said.
The call was notable because it was the first communication between the men since March, when they agreed to restore diplomacy following a seven-year breach under a deal negotiated by China.
Iran is a longtime backer of Hamas, but it has denied having a hand in Palestine’s ruling militant group’s brutal coordinated terror attack Saturday.
Saudi Arabia and Israel were also nearing historic diplomatic ties before the attack amid a diplomatic push by the US to restore normalcy with the Jewish nation and its Arab neighbors in the volatile Middle East region.
Asked about the call, a senior US State Department official said Washington, which staunchly backs Israel in its fight against Hamas, was in “constant contact with Saudi leaders”.
The official added that the U.S. was asking its partners with channels or relations with Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah or Iran “to get Hamas to stand down from its attacks, to release hostages, keep Hezbollah out (and) keep Iran out of the fray.”
Mohammed, 38 also spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Wednesday to convey his “unremitting efforts” to coordinate a “halt of the current escalation.”
A similar message was delivered to French President Emmanuel Macron by the crown prince.
Mohammed told Macron his kingdom did not support “targeting civilians or disrupting the infrastructure and vital interests that affect their daily lives,” according to a foreign ministry readout.
The calls came as President Biden faced pressure from some Republicans to halt Iran’s oil exports, which could result in a worldwide gas price spike.
“I think it’s now time for us to consider with our friends in Israel to hit Iran’s oil economy. If there is an escalation of this war, I am urging the Biden administration and the Israelis to jointly come up with a plan to destroy Iran’s oil infrastructure,” Sen. Lindsey Graham told WSPA-TV Monday.
“Without oil they have no money. Without money, terrorism loses its biggest benefactor,”
With Post wires