Report Saudis Sought Peace with Iran after Trump Rejected Post-Aramco Retaliation

Oct. 7, 2019 (EIRNS)—The New York Times posted a story Oct. 5 reporting that the Saudis are engaging in “quiet openings” with Iran in order to head off a war between the two countries. Much of what is reported there is not new, such as the interventions of Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi and Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, to act as intermediaries between Riyadh and Tehran.

What hadn’t been reported before is that the Saudis began their outreach after President Donald Trump refused to launch military strikes against Iran in retaliation for the Sept. 14 strikes on two Aramco oil facilities.

“It was President Donald Trump’s refusal to retaliate against Iran for the Sept. 14 attack, analysts say, that set off unintended consequences, prompting Saudi Arabia to seek its own solution to the conflict,” the Times reported. Aside from lamenting what the Times sees as the collapse of the anti-Iran front of the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the U.A.E., the Times report also expresses sour grapes on how Trump’s refusal to attack Iran also means that his administration’s plans for an “Arab NATO” to militarily contain Iran is effectively now off the table.

As already reported by EIR, the Saudis have additionally entertained ceasefire proposals which may lead to their exiting their barbaric war on Yemen.