ADDS POST BY SAUDI DEFENSE MINISTER
By Yasin Gungor
ISTANBUL (AA) - Defense and intelligence officials from Saudi Arabia and Israel are visiting the United States this week to discuss Iran amid a US military buildup in the region.
The head of Israel’s Military Intelligence Directorate, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, conducted a series of high-level consultations Tuesday and Wednesday with the top leadership at the Pentagon, the CIA and the White House, according to two American officials.
The visit was said to be centered on delivering specific intelligence requested by the Trump administration, including data on potential strike targets within Iran.
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman meanwhile said he met with top administration figures Thursday to discuss strategic bilateral ties and cooperation as well as "regional and global peace and stability."
Bin Salman said in a post on the US social media company X’s platform that he met with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff "to review the strategic relations between our countries and explore prospects for enhancing our cooperation.
"We also discussed our efforts to advance regional and global peace and stability," said the Saudi defense chief, who is expected to continue talks Friday to emphasize diplomatic avenues with the three US figures as well as Pentagon officials.
The Saudi Defense Ministry said bin Salman and an accompanying delegation arrived in Washington, DC for a visit that "aims to discuss bilateral relations between the two friendly countries and ways to strengthen them, as well as to address topics and issues of common interest.”
Saudi Arabia, which has been passing messages between Washington and Tehran, said earlier that it would not allow the US to use its airspace in an attack.
The diplomatic friction comes as the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group arrived to finalize a naval "armada" that Trump recently claimed is bigger than the force previously deployed to Venezuela.
"The directive at the moment is to prepare," a US official noted, suggesting that the president is rapidly approaching a final decision on military action.
Neither the US nor Israel have commented on the report by Axios.
Trump has demanded that Iran make a deal on its nuclear program before it is too late, warning that this time, an attack would be "far worse." The US bombed three Iranian nuclear sites last June during Tehran's 12-day war with Israel.
Iran said its civil nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but the West argues that it is developing a nuclear weapon. The US has also expressed concern about Iran's ballistic missile program.
The developments come amid recent unrest and protests in Iran about worsening economic conditions due to a sharp depreciation in the local currency.
*Contributions by Ahmet Salih Alacaci from Washington, DC