Saudi Arabia Again Intervenes in US Iran Policy, Trump Cancels Strike

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called President Donald Trump on Saturday to urge restraint hours before Trump announced he was canceling a planned military strike on Iran.

This is not the first time Saudi Arabia has intervened in US decision-making, but it marks another instance of Riyadh playing a crucial role in de-escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran.

The sequence of events is now well-documented: Saudi Arabia lobbies Washington to stand down, Trump announces a ceasefire or deal framework, Iran publicly denies any agreement, markets partially reprice the war premium, and the underlying military standoff continues unchanged.

Iran flatly denied any deal existed, but oil markets moved anyway, pricing in the best-case scenario for the fifth time in this six-month conflict. Brent crude fell more than 5% and WTI sank nearly 6%, reflecting traders' unwinding of the war premium at least partially and temporarily.