INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on Wednesday, in the
first telephone call between the two leaders since a China-brokered deal between Tehran and Riyadh to resume ties, Reuters reported.The two
leaders& call came as Israel carried out air strikes in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a deadly attack by Palestinian Hamas militants in
Israel.Raisi and the Saudi crown prince discussed the &need to end war crimes against Palestine,& Iranian state media said.The Saudi crown
prince, for his part, &affirmed that the Kingdom is making all possible efforts in communicating with all international and regional parties
to stop the ongoing escalation,& Saudi state news agency SPA said.He also reiterated Saudi Arabia&s rejection of targeting civilians in any
way, SPA added.Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to resume ties in March under a deal negotiated by China after seven years of hostility, which
had threatened stability and security in the Gulf and helped fuel conflicts in the Middle East, from Yemen to Syria, read the report.Asked
about Raisi&s call with the crown prince, a senior U.S
State Department official said Washington, which staunchly backs Israel in its fight against Hamas, was in &constant contact with Saudi
leaders&.The official added that the U.S
was asking its partners with channels or relations with Hamas, Lebanon&s Hezbollah or Iran &to get Hamas to stand down from its attacks, to
release hostages, keep Hezbollah out (and) keep Iran out of the fray.&The post Iran president, Saudi crown prince speak for first time since
ties restored first appeared on Ariana News.
