TRUMP, SAUDI CROWN PRINCE SEE EYE TO EYE
Shared strong views on Iran may escalate regional tension, say US officials
WASHINGTON
SAUDI Arabia’s new crown prince and likely next king shares United States President Donald Trump’s hawkish view of Iran, but a more confrontational approach towards Teheran carries a risk of escalation in an unstable region, US officials said.
Iran would almost certainly respond to a more aggressive posture by the US and its chief Sunni Arab ally in battlefields where Riyadh and Teheran are engaged in a regional tussle for influence.
Prince Mohammed bin Salman, widely referred to as “MbS”, has ruled out any dialogue with arch rival Iran and pledged to protect his conservative kingdom from what he called Teheran’s efforts to dominate the Muslim world.
In the first meeting between Trump and Mohammed at the White House in March, the two leaders noted the importance of “confronting Iran’s destabilising regional activities”.
But that could have unintended consequences, said US administration officials.
The greatest danger for the Trump administration, a longtime US government expert on Middle East affairs said, was for the US to be dragged deeper into the Sunni-Shia conflict playing out across the Middle East, a danger that could be compounded by Trump’s delegation of responsibility for military decisions to the Pentagon.
If the administration gives US commanders greater authority to respond to Iranian air and naval provocations in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, things could easily spiral out of control, the official said.
US-backed forces fighting in Syria were in close proximity with Iranian-backed forces supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. US military jets twice this month had shot down Iranian-made drones threatening US and coalition forces in southeastern Syria.
The US also supports the Saudi-led coalition’s war in Yemen through refuelling, logistics and limited intelligence assistance.
Mohammed was the driving force behind the Saudi-led campaign in Yemen against Iran-allied Houthi rebels, launched in March 2015.
He also appeared to have orchestrated this month’s breach with neighbour Qatar, which was accused by Riyadh and three other Arab states of cozying up to Iran, funding terrorism or fomenting regional instability. Qatar denies the allegations. A former Obama administration official, who has met Mohammed, said his attitude toward Iran “stems from his strongly felt conviction that for too long, the kingdom has been a punching bag, a passive witness to Iranian action, true or assumed, in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia’s own eastern province.”
“His view is that Saudi Arabia absorbed those blows and now, there’s no reason to absorb them anymore,” the ex- official said.
That dovetails neatly with Trump who has said Iran promotes evil and is a key source of funding and support for militant groups. Reuters