USA01 October, 20262 min read
Pete Hegseth Calls Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid Bin Salman On Regional Security
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Khalid bin Salman spoke with Pete Hegseth on the Saudi-US defense partnership and regional security. He also discussed defense cooperation with US and French counterparts in separate calls.
Hegseth Calls Khalid
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth discussed the strategic defense partnership with Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman in a telephone call, and Prince Khalid said the talks addressed coordinating efforts to enhance security and stability in the region.
Prince Khalid bin Salman said on X that the call with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth included a review of the Saudi-US strategic defense partnership and discussion of coordinating efforts to strengthen regional security and stability.
Saudi Arabia and the United States announced in July that they had reached an agreement to cooperate in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and the agreement was described as strengthening cooperation in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
A U.S. administration official told Reuters in an email that President Donald Trump still ties the agreement’s entry into force to normalizing Saudi Arabia’s relations with Israel, adding, "The President's position has not changed: the agreement will not go forward unless Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords."
Separate Calls With France
Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman discussed regional security and defense cooperation in separate calls with his US and French counterparts, and the Saudi Defense Ministry said the two reviewed the Saudi-US strategic defense partnership in the call with Pete Hegseth. Khalid bin Salman also held a separate call with French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin, and the Saudi Defense Ministry said they discussed prospects for defense cooperation.
Prince Khalid wrote on X that he and Catherine Vautrin explored efforts to address regional challenges "in a manner that preserves international peace and security," along with other issues of mutual interest. Arab News said the call came amid heightened regional tensions and a series of attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis targeting the Kingdom, including a drone attack on the Taiba power distribution station in Madinah on Tuesday morning.
Nuclear Deal, Regional Tensions
The U.S. administration official said the nuclear-energy agreement would not go forward unless Saudi Arabia joined the Abraham Accords, even as the agreement review process in Congress had started. Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman’s calls with Pete Hegseth and Catherine Vautrin placed the Saudi-US strategic defense partnership and regional security coordination at the center of the discussions.
“The President's position has not changed: the agreement will not go forward unless Saudi Arabia joins the Abraham Accords.”
The Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen said Saudi air defenses intercepted two drones launched toward Riyadh and two ballistic missiles fired toward Khamis Mushayt on Saturday, and it said two days earlier it intercepted six ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis toward Yanbu and Taif. Al-Malki said the attack on the Taibah electricity distribution station in Madinah was a "cowardly" terrorist act, and he said the attack resulted in one power transformer being taken out of service without affecting the electricity network.