Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud met with US Vice President JD Vance on Wednesday in Washington to discuss the recent US-Saudi strikes against Iran-backed militias in Iraq, according to a CNN report.
Khalid originally planned to make the brief trip last week before postponing it, CNN reported, citing sources familiar with the trip.
In the meeting, the defense minister told Vance that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is interested in de-escalating the situation with Iran, according to a source familiar with the details of the meeting. Notably, the comment stands in opposition to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's stance on the war with Iran.
This comes as US Central Command (CENTCOM) struck Iraq on Wednesday together with the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces, targeting "Iran-aligned terrorists that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed to attack US forces and Saudi energy infrastructure," according to a CENTCOM post on X/Twitter.
"US and Saudi fighter aircraft struck multiple terrorist logistics and weapons sites across eastern Iraq in a strong response to over 30 IRGC-directed aerial drone attacks in the last 72 hours," CENTCOM said.
Saudis seek de-escalation, say will respond to strikes against kingdom
The sources told CNN that Saudi Arabia believes Iran is seeking to generate leverage through regional escalation, with attacks from its proxies expected to continue.
Saudi Arabia stressed that it still seeks de-escalation regardless, the sources said, with the kingdom's response meant to send the message that attacks against it will not go unanswered.
Esther Davis and Ruby Sadikman contributed to this report.