Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed in a phone call with US President Donald Trump the “necessity of prioritizing dialogue to de-escalate tensions” in the Middle East, according to Saudi Arabia’s state news agency.

This follows an early Sunday report from Axios that Salman had asked Trump to reconsider potential large military strikes on Iran during a phone call on Saturday.

The report cited two United States officials, one of whom told Axios that “the Saudis expressed concern and asked for clarity about the plan of action.” 

Axios further cited sources with knowledge of the call between the two world leaders, who said that MBS asked Trump to de-escalate the situation instead of launching large strikes.

According to the report, the Saudis are concerned that the strikes could result in an unprecedented regional escalation.

Axios reached out to the Saudi Embassy in Washington and the White House, both of which declined to comment.

The report comes as two Israeli sources told The Jerusalem Post that Israel has raised its alert and readiness for a potential resumption of large US strikes on Iran.

Countries across region ask Trump to avoid large strikes

Other countries in the region have also asked Trump to avoid escalating the situation, including Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Pakistan, according to the report.

According to Axios, indirect talks on Saturday between the US and Iran have resulted in some progress, though no agreement has been reached.

Amichai Stein contributed to this report.

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