LIVE: Saudis push Trump to resume Iran strikes

by Jon Michael Raasch, US Political Reporter

Saudi Arabia’s leader has urged Donald Trump to deploy ground troops in Iran and believes the war is a ‘historic opportunity’ for regime change.

Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) urged Trump in several calls over the past week to keep fighting Iran, attempting to persuade the President that the job could not be left half finished, sources told the New York Times.

The Saudi Crown Prince made the case that Iran’s government will pose a long-term threat to the region if it isn’t completely wiped out, the officials said.

MBS urged Trump to send troops into Iran to take over the country’s energy infrastructure and to force the current government out of power, the sources added.

Trump expressed concerns that escalating further could push oil prices even higher, with the national average gas price hitting $4.00 on Monday, up from $2.90 per gallon when the war began on February 28.

MBS’s private views contrast with Saudi’s public statements that highlight the kingdom’s desire for a diplomatic end to the war, which has led to retaliatory strikes on its energy sites and strangled its oil exports.

Here are the latest developments on day 25 of the US-Israel war with Iran:

• Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is urging Donald Trump to continue the US war with Iran, according to The New York Times
• Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Islamabad stands ‘ready and honoured’ to host peace talks between the US and Iran with Donald Trump sharing his annnouncement on Truth Social
• Iran named a former Revolutionary Guards commander, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, as head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council to succeed the assassinated Ali Larijani
• The Gulf states will need to re-evaluate their shared security after the war, which has resulted in a ‘breakdown of the security system’, a Qatar foreign ministry spokesman said
• Israel said its military will seize control of a ‘security zone’ around 20 miles into southern Lebanon as it presses its fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah
• Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has declared a state of ​national energy emergency in response to the Middle ‌East conflict and what he called an ‘imminent danger’ posed to the country’s energy supply
• A British Special Forces base in northern Iraq repelled a record 14 Iranian suicide drones last night in a dramatic escalation of the conflict
• New Zealand has announced it will provide cash handouts to help families afford petrol in response to the energy crisis
• European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has declared the time has come for negotiations with Iran to reopen the blocked Strait of Hormuz with the crisis now ‘critical’ for countries
• Vietnam’s national air carrier will suspend nearly two dozen domestic flights a week starting next month because of limited fuel supplies caused by the Iran war

Volkswagen is in talks with an Israeli defence firm to switch production at one of its factories from cars to missile defence.

The German firm is in discussions with Rafael, one of Israel’s largest defence companies, to convert the Osnabrück plant to make components for the infamous Iron Dome air defence system.

The plant has long faced closure, with 2,300 jobs on the line. The deal may see the Iron Dome system being sold to European governments.

According to a source who spoke to the FT, ‘The aim is to save everybody, maybe even to grow. The potential is so high. But it’s also an individual decision for the workers if they want to be part of the idea.’

The German government is reportedly actively supporting the proposal.

Iran has today said it carried out drone strikes against a facility holding Israeli weapons in the northern city of Haifa.

According to the Fars news agency, Iranian forces launched missiles and drones at a facility belonging to the Israeli weapons form Rafael.

Earlier, strikes also targeted aerospace facilities near Ben Gurion Airport and refuelling aircraft at the site.

The head of France’s army has said American foreign policy decisions are becoming increasingly harder to read.

Air Army General Fabien Mandon said of the US’s military operations in Iran: ‘We were surprised by an American ally, ​who remains an ally, but who is becoming increasingly unpredictable and doesn’t even bother ​to inform us when they decide ‌to launch military operations.

‘It has an impact on our security and it has an impact on our interests’.

His boss, Emmanuel Macron, previously said France was ‘not party to the conflict’ in the Middle East.

He added that France would not take part in any operations to ‘open or liberate the Strait ⁠of Hormuz in ​the current context’.

Pope Leo has said he fears the increase of violence and hatred amid the roiling war in the Middle East.

The American pope warned: ‘Hatred is increasing, and the violence is getting worse and worse.’

He called for a ceasefire to be implemented as soon as possible, ‘to work for peace, but not with weapons — rather through dialogue, truly seeking a solution for everyone.

“There are more than a million displaced people and many dead. I invite all the authorities to truly work through dialogue to resolve the problems.’

Israeli emergency services said the number of people injured in the attack on Bnei Brak has risen to 12.

Six children are among the nine people injured following an airstrike on the central Israeli city of Bnei Brak tonight.

Emergency services said that a 23-year-old, now in a ‘moderate’ condition, suffered shrapnel injuries, while eight others suffered mild blast and shrapnel injuries.

Donald Trump has reportedly approved the deployment of over 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.

Sources told Sky News and NBC News that Trump approved the order last night, and orders and now being written for the headquarters, staff and some ground forces.

The full brigade is made up of over 3,000 troops. They have not yet left the US, but could be sent overseas in the coming days.

The 82nd Airborne is a specialist infantry division that holds expertise in parachute assaults.

Iran has said a projectile hit the grounds of the Bushehr nuclear facility tonight.

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said the attack constituted a ‘clear violation of international regulations regarding the immunity of such centres from military action.’

It also warned of ‘dangerous consequences for regional safety, particularly for countries along the Persian Gulf’.