Details are emerging about the covert diplomatic efforts that preceded the launch of the joint US-Israeli attack on Iran on Shabbos.

A dramatic report in The Washington Post reveals that President Donald Trump’s decision to approve the operation did not occur in a vacuum, but was the result of weeks of intensive persuasion by Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

According to the report, Bin Salman called Trump several times over the past month to urge him to authorize a military operation against Iran, warning that if he didn’t strike soon, Iran would emerge stronger and even more dangerous. At the same time, Bin Salman made public statements in support of a diplomatic solution and told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that he would not allow Saudi airspace or territory to be used for attacks against Iran.

The report added that the Crown Prince’s brother, Khalid bin Salman, delivered a similar message to Trump in private meetings during a visit to Washington in January.

The report unveils Saudi Arabia’s sophisticated dual-track strategy currently unfolding in the Middle East. While the Kingdom maintains a public posture of diplomatic restraint and continues to call for de-escalation, its private actions suggest a far more aggressive alignment.

The true extent of this regional coordination came to light on Motzei Shabbos. Immediately following reports of the successful assassination, President Trump held a high-stakes phone call with the Saudi Crown Prince. Earlier the same day, Bin Salman held strategic discussions with the Emirs of Kuwait and Qatar—in what appears to have been a broad alignment of Gulf states designed to navigate—and perhaps capitalize on—the rapidly shifting regional power balance.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)