Three Messages from the Saudi Kingdom to the Islamic Republic; Bernard Haykel: Saudi Arabia Wants to Remain Neutral in This War

A Princeton University professor spoke to Siamak Dehghanpour from Voice of America, stating that Saudi Arabia conveyed three important messages to the Islamic Republic during Abbas Araghchi's meeting with Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country, and warned about Iran's regional activities. Bernard Haykel, a professor of Near Eastern Studies and Islamic Studies at Princeton University, said on Thursday, October 11, that Mohammed bin Salman sent three important messages to the Iranian government during his meeting with Abbas Araghchi, the Iranian Foreign Minister. Haykel stated, 'The first message was that a country like Saudi Arabia will remain neutral and will not allow Israel or any other country to use its waters, land, and air to attack Iran. Saudi Arabia does not wish to be a party in this war.' He did not rule out the possibility of Israeli aircraft flying in border areas between regional countries - for example, the Jordan-Saudi border. According to Bernard Haykel, 'The second message was that... even if Israel attacks, [the Islamic Republic of] Iran should not be provoked into war, as it would not be in Iran's interest, and Israel, especially with the help of the United States, is militarily far superior.' The Princeton University Near Eastern Studies professor, who was speaking from Riyadh, added in explaining the third message: 'The third message was that if Saudi Arabia is attacked by Iran for any reason, it will retaliate and will use its superior air force and missiles - which number at least three thousand - to attack Iran.' He also expressed Riyadh's concerns about the possibility of an Iranian attack on oil fields in the region, adding, 'Therefore, if there is an unprovoked attack, especially on its oil facilities, Saudi Arabia will retaliate.' Reuters reported on Thursday, October 11, citing three sources from Gulf Arab countries, that these countries have asked the U.S. to prevent Israel from attacking Iranian oil facilities. According to the report, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar have told the U.S. that they will not allow Israel to attack Iran by flying over their airspace. The actions of these countries follow Iran's recent diplomatic efforts to persuade them to use their relations with the U.S. to pressure Israel amid growing concerns about a potential Israeli attack on Iranian oil facilities. Additionally, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched an unprecedented attack on Tuesday night, October 1, firing over 180 ballistic missiles towards Israel, significantly escalating ongoing tensions in the Middle East. While senior Israeli officials have stated that they will not leave the attack unanswered, there has been much speculation about how Israel will respond to this unprecedented attack. Yoav Galant, Israel's Defense Minister, stated on Wednesday that Israel's response to the Islamic Republic of Iran will be 'powerful, precise, and most importantly, surprising.' U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, as Israel continues its military operations in Gaza and Lebanon and considers its response to recent Iranian missile attacks.