Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), the de facto chief executive of Saudi Arabia, reportedly urged President Donald Trump to avoid turning the Iran crisis into a “wider conflict whose repercussions would affect regional and international security and stability” when they spoke by telephone on Sunday.

Trump said on Sunday that American forces were “all set to go” for a “massive attack” on Iran, but he called it off at the urging of America’s allies in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.

“I said, ‘What would you rather do? Would you rather have us do this or not?’ They said, ‘We would much prefer a deal as opposed to an attack, because you don’t know where these attacks lead,’” Trump said of his conversation with MBS.

According to the state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA), MBS stressed “the need to prioritize dialogue to reduce escalation and the importance of making every possible effort to achieve calm that paves the way for diplomatic solutions” in his conversation with Trump.

A “person familiar with the call” told Qatar-based Al Jazeera News that MBS was worried that “a major US strike on Iran’s energy infrastructure could trigger Iranian retaliation against Gulf oil and gas facilities.”

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