Saudi FM says Trump presidency doesn’t raise risk of Iran-Israel war

At World Economic Forum, Prince Faisal urges to avoid such a conflict; Herzog tells summit that nuclear bomb-seeking Iran will be ‘main issue’ on US president’s agenda

Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud attends a session during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, January 21, 2025 (Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)
Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud attends a session during the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, January 21, 2025 (Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP)

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister said on Tuesday he did not see Donald Trump’s new administration increasing the risk of an Israel-Iran conflict, addressing an issue the region has feared since the start of the war in Gaza.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud also said in Davos that he hoped President Trump’s approach to Iran would be met with a willingness by Tehran to positively engage with the US administration and address the issue of its nuclear program.

“Obviously a war between Iran and Israel, any war in our region is something we should try to avoid as much as possible,” Prince Faisal said during the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in the Swiss mountain resort.

“I don’t see the incoming US administration as contributory to the risk of war; on the contrary, President Trump has been quite clear he does not favor conflict.”

President Isaac Herzog was also at Davos, where he said that Iran will be a “main issue on the agenda” of Trump, who was sworn into office on Monday.

“Iran cannot have nuclear capabilities, and has to stop with its proxies and axis of evil,” Herzog said in conversation with journalist Fareed Zakaria. The regime in Tehran is “working day and day out even now… rushing toward the bomb, and of course planning all the time terror attacks the world over and in our region.”

President Isaac Herzog (R) and CNN journalist Fareed Zakaria take part in a session during the World Economic Forum in Davos on January 21, 2025. (FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP)

After Trump in 2018 pulled the US out of a nuclear pact between Iran and world powers that granted the Islamic Republic sanctions relief in return for curbs on its nuclear program, the Iranians rolled back some of their commitments to the deal. Iran has since enriched uranium to levels a short technical step from weapons grades. Though Tehran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, the UN nuclear watchdog has said the level of enrichment it is producing is only needed for atomic weapons.

Israel has vowed to stop Iran from going nuclear and has indicated it may act alone if necessary.

Iran on Monday said it hoped Trump’s administration would adopt a “realistic” approach and show “respect” for the interests of countries in the region.

Fears of war between Israel and Iran increased after the Tehran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas led a deadly cross-border attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians. The assault triggered a war in the Gaza Strip as Israel battled Hamas. Additional allies of Iran, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis, entered into confrontation with Israel, as did Iran itself.

Israel unleashed devastating attacks against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, decimating the military structure of both groups, shattering Iran’s network of influence in the Middle East, and upending powerful alliances that led to the ousting of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad, another Iran ally.

Fifteen months after the October attacks, a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas was reached. During that period, Iran twice fired missile barrages at Israel, which responded with airstrikes on Iran. A separate ceasefire with Hezbollah was reached at the end of November.

Prince Faisal was speaking at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting on a panel along with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who helped broker the ceasefire agreement.

Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani speaks on the sideline of the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos on January 21, 2025. (MICHAEL BUHOLZER / POOL / AFP)

The Qatari premier said the decisive involvement of Trump’s Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, had made a profound difference and led to significant progress in reaching the deal.

He said he hoped the Palestinian Authority would return to play a governing role in Gaza once the war with Israel comes to an end, adding that Gazans — and not any other country — should decide how the enclave is to be governed.

Al Thani met with Herzog on the sidelines of the Davos summit.

How Gaza will be governed after the war was not directly addressed in the deal between Israel and Hamas.

Israel has rejected any governing role for the terror group, which seized control of Gaza from the PA in 2007, but it has been almost equally opposed to rule by the PA, the body set up under the Oslo interim peace accords three decades ago that has limited governing power in the West Bank.

Helping Syria

Saudi’s Prince Faisal also said the new Syrian government had inherited a broken country with no real institutions and needed international help to rebuild and start from scratch.

“It is essential to engage, show patience, and extend effective support to the administration in Damascus by putting out a helping hand,” he said.

US President Donald Trump reviews the troops during Inauguration ceremonies in Emancipation Hall at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 20, 2025. (Photo by Greg Nash / POOL / AFP)

Lifting the burden of sanctions placed on Syria due to the actions of the previous Assad government would be a key step forward. Although the US and Europe have granted some waivers, further action is necessary, the minister said.

“Syria is a shattered nation in desperate need of rebuilding. The earlier we engage and the more support we offer, the greater the chances of a successful and stable transition,” he said.

Qatar’s Sheikh Mohammed said Trump’s return to the White House presented significant opportunities for collaboration, emphasizing the potential to work together to transform the Middle East into a region of stability and security.

“President Trump’s whole notion of making America great again is something very important. We also want to see the Middle East great again.” he said.

Prince Faisal, whose country shunned Lebanon for years over the strong influence of Hezbollah on state affairs, also said he would visit Beirut later this week, marking the first such trip by a Saudi foreign minister in more than a decade.

He said the election of a Lebanese president after a lengthy power vacuum was positive, but that Riyadh needed to see real reforms in order to raise its engagement in the country.

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