Top Middle East official says Iran's regime will only get stronger without Trump strike – Axios

On January 30, Saudi defense minister prince Khalid bin Salman said at a closed-door briefing in Washington that if the US President Donald Trump will not fulfill their threats regarding Iran, the regime will become even stronger as a result. About this reports media Axios, citing four interlocutors who attended the event.

Publicly, Saudi Arabia warns against escalation of the conflict, and three weeks ago, the country's crown prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed deep concern to Trump. This warning was one of the reasons why the US president decided to postpone a strike against the Islamic Republic, the media reports.

The Saudi defense minister, the younger brother and closest confidant of the crown prince, visited Washington for meetings on Iran as the Middle East prepares for US military action, and Tehran promised that its response would be "unprecedented" in scope.

On January 29, Saudi DM holds a lengthy meeting at the White House with secretary of State Mark Rubio, minister of war Pete Hegseth, Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Kane.

According to the source, the officials focused on a possible US strike on Iran.

Saudi Arabia's stated position was very cautious. The crown prince told Iranian "president" Massoud Paezeshkian that his country would not allow America to use its airspace in its attack. The Saudis also claimed that they respected the sovereignty of the Islamic Republic and sought a diplomatic solution.

However, according to Axios, on January 30, the country's defense minister was less reserved during an hour-long meeting with experts from Middle East think tanks and representatives of Jewish organizations.

The official said he believes Trump will have to take military action after threatening an attack for weeks, but he will also have to try to reduce the risks of regional escalation, the interlocutors said.

"At the moment, if this does not happen, it will only embolden the regime [in Iran]," the participants of the event reported the minister's words.

As the two interlocutors understood it, the official's statement reflected what he had said at the White House. However, the minister noted that he left the meeting at the US administration without a clear idea of the strategy or intentions of the US authorities towards Tehran.

The official also pointed out that the Middle East is "stuck" in a situation where a US strike on the Islamic Republic risks having "bad outcomes," but that refusing to do so would mean that "Iran will come out of this stronger."

One of the reasons for the change in the Saudi position may be that the country has decided that Trump has decided to attack, and it does not want to be seen as opposing this step, Axios concludes.

• According to media reports, earlier this week, Washington was visited by the head of Israeli military intelligence.
• Reuters' sources said that the US president is considering a new strike on Iran to revive the protests and contribute to the overthrow of the current regime.