Saudi Prince Warns Trump: No Strike Means Iran Levels Up Like a Boss

Photo by Filip Rankovic Grobgaard on Unsplash

KEY POINTS

•On January 29, Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman warned Trump in Washington that failing to strike Iran would embolden Tehran.
•This stance reverses three weeks earlier when Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman urged caution and refused U.S. airspace for attacks.
•Despite longer meetings with U.S. officials and Jewish groups, KBS admitted uncertainty about Trump’s actual Iran strategy.

On January 29, Prince Khalid bin Salman (KBS), the younger brother of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) and Saudi Defense Minister, dropped a diplomatic plot twist longer than a mystery series. In a cozy Washington briefing with Marco Rubio, Pete Hegseth, Steve Witkoff, and Gen. Dan Caine, KBS boldly declared if Trump chickens out on bombing Iran, Tehran will get stronger—like that final boss nobody wants to fight. This is rich coming weeks after MBS played Mr. Responsible, telling Iran’s president they wouldn’t even let the U.S. fly through Saudi airspace. Meanwhile, Gulf officials confess they're stuck between 'bad outcomes if we hit Iran' and 'Iran levels up if we don’t.' Talk about sibling rivalry meets international shoulder shrug.