Bin Salman - Iranian President Discuss Gaza Strip Crisis... "Reaffirm Support for Palestine"

"Active Communication to Prevent Escalation"
Israel Ground Forces Deployment in Final Countdown

Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi held a phone call to discuss the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas. Both sides reaffirmed their existing stance supporting the position of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and agreed on expanding communication among the stakeholders to prevent escalation.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to AFP on the 12th (local time), Crown Prince bin Salman and President Raisi had their first official phone call since the normalization of relations between the two countries. The two leaders reportedly discussed the military situation and environment in the Gaza Strip, where the conflict between Israel and Hamas is ongoing.

During the call, the two leaders reaffirmed their existing position of "supporting the Palestinian cause" and discussed the necessity to end war crimes against Palestinians, AFP reported.

Previously, Saudi Arabia and Iran had severed diplomatic relations in 2016, but in March of this year, they agreed to normalize diplomatic relations after seven years through China's mediation and have been working on improving ties. Amid a general atmosphere of reconciliation in the Middle East, the sudden surprise attack by Hamas on Israel and the subsequent Israeli military counterattack have prompted Saudi Arabia and Iran to actively expand communication among the stakeholders to prevent further escalation.

On the same day, Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman also stated in a call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an that "we are making continuous efforts through regional and international communication to achieve cooperative moves to stop the worsening of the current situation." With Israel preparing a large-scale ground troop deployment across the Gaza Strip, there is growing consensus on the need to prevent the conflict from expanding into a new Middle East war between the entire Arab League and Israel.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military is reported to have completed all preparations for ground troop deployment and is awaiting orders from the Israeli government. Colonel Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesperson, said at a press conference on the sixth day of clashes with Hamas, "No ground attack has been decided yet, but we are preparing for it."

The Israeli military had previously mobilized over 500,000 troops, including 170,000 active-duty soldiers and 360,000 reservists, and if the ground troop deployment to the Gaza Strip is decided, more than 300,000 troops are expected to participate in the operation to eliminate Hamas.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.