Accept deal with Trump or face Israeli attack, Saudi minister warned Iran

Accept U.S. President Donald Trump's offer to negotiate a nuclear agreement or face the risk of war with Israel, ran the blunt message delivered by Saudi Arabia's defense minister to Iranian officials in April, according to a Reuters report on Friday. 

Alarmed at the prospect of further instability in the region, Saudi Arabia's 89-year-old King Salman bin Abdulaziz dispatched his son, Prince Khalid bin Salman, with the warning destined for Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the report said, citing two Gulf sources close to government circles and two Iranian officials.

Present at the closed-door meeting in Tehran, which took place on April 17 in the presidential compound, were Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, armed forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the sources said.

While the media covered the 37-year-old prince's visit, the content of King Salman's covert message has not been previously reported.

Trump had unexpectedly announced just over a week earlier that direct talks were taking place with Tehran, aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear program in return for sanctions relief. He did so in the presence of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who had travelled to Washington hoping instead to win support for attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.