Opinion: Opinion | Is Saudi Arabia Now Quietly Switching Sides In US-Iran War?

The recent escalation between the US and Iran has a major actor missing - the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Iran pounded US bases in Bahrain and Kuwait and surprisingly even in Oman, the friendliest Gulf countries to Iran and ones where a majority of the mediation between Iran and the US has taken place - not only during the current conflict but decades ago, too. But, conspicuously, Saudi Arabia is not in the picture. Instead, it sent a delegation to the funeral of Iran's late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in a joint US-Israel strike (much of the West had stayed away from the funeral), while Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, are regularly speaking to each other.</p><!--dsk1-->