Senior Saudi officials have expressed anger at the scale and timing of the US and Israeli strikes on Iran, with the kingdom telling its Gulf allies to avoid taking any steps that could trigger a response by Tehran or its proxies and push the region towards a broader conflict.
Two Gulf Arab sources told Middle East Eye that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman conveyed the message to the leaders of Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on Saturday, shortly after the country’s foreign ministry formally condemned Iran’s retaliatory strikes across the Arabian peninsula.
The sources said that the conversations were brief but there was an emerging consensus that Iran’s retaliatory strikes were lesser in intensity than expected and that the Gulf states should avoid taking any direct action that could elicit an angry response from Tehran.
The sources said that the sentiment was later echoed when the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah, held calls with his regional counterparts.
Read more: Saudi Arabia tells Gulf allies to avoid any steps that could inflame tensions with Iran, sources say
