Saudi Crown Prince Urges Trump to Halt 'Full-Scale Attack' on Iran, Citing Yemen Quagmire Fears

U.S. President Donald Trump stated on August 2 that the American military had been fully prepared for a 'full-scale attack' on Iran, planning large-scale military strikes, but ultimately decided to cancel the operation after receiving strong recommendations from Middle Eastern allies, including Saudi Arabia.

Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, held a phone call with Trump on August 2. According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), during the call, Mohammed emphasized the need to prioritize dialogue to de-escalate tensions and exhaust all efforts to ease the situation, paving the way for diplomatic solutions and preventing the Iran crisis from evolving into a 'larger conflict threatening regional and international security stability.'

Trump revealed details of his conversation with the Saudi crown prince: 'I asked him, “What do you want us to do? Do you want us to carry out this strike or not?” They responded: “We absolutely prefer reaching an agreement over launching an attack, because you simply cannot predict how such an attack might ultimately escalate.”'

Sources told Al Jazeera that Saudi Arabia's primary concern is that if the U.S. launches a large-scale aerial assault on Iran's energy infrastructure, it could trigger retaliatory strikes by Iran against oil and gas facilities in Gulf states.

In fact, Saudi Arabia has already been targeted multiple times by Iran in recent weeks and has continued to repel attacks from the Iran-backed Yemeni terrorist group 'Houthis' (also known as the Youth Movement). Two weeks ago, the Houthis officially announced a 'naval blockade' on shipping in the Red Sea belonging to Saudi Arabia, directly threatening the alternative oil transport route that Saudi Arabia relies on if the Strait of Hormuz is blocked by Iran.

Iran's official Tasnim News Agency reported on July 31 that Tehran has drawn up a detailed list of potential targets across the Middle East. If the U.S. carries out the military action threatened by Trump, Iran will immediately retaliate.

Iran's planned targets include Saudi Arabia's Ghawar oil field—the output of which accounts for about 5% of global oil supply—and the Abqaiq and Khurais oil refining facilities; these refining facilities were previously attacked by Houthi drones during earlier rounds of hostilities.

In addition to Saudi Arabia, Iran's retaliation blueprint includes the Zakum oil field and Ruways refinery in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait's Burgan oil field, Bahrain's Sitrah refinery, Qatar's Ras Laffan natural gas field, and Israel's Leviathan and Tamar natural gas fields.

Citing a senior Iranian security official, Tasnim News Agency stated: 'We have already developed a comprehensive plan to respond to any potential reckless actions by the United States.'

According to the news website Axios, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has informed his Saudi counterpart that 'any hostile actions by the U.S. or Israel will face a decisive and proportionate response from Iran's powerful armed forces.' This indicates that Iran is not only directly threatening Saudi Arabia with attacks but also attempting to make the Riyadh government aware that a high-intensity, full-scale war would severely damage Saudi Arabia's core interests.

A former U.S. Department of Defense official, Dana Stroul, analyzing for India's NDTV, stated that Saudi Arabia is making great efforts to avoid being drawn once again into a long, costly, and bloody stalemate with Yemen's Houthi movement. Saudi Arabia previously led a multinational coalition in the Yemeni civil war for several years, enduring immense international pressure due to civilian casualties caused by airstrikes, and only reached a highly unstable ceasefire agreement in 2022.

Stroul emphasized: 'After years of war, Saudi Arabia has learned a painful lesson—it deeply understands that military force alone is insufficient to address the security threats posed by the Houthis in Yemen.'