US President Donald Trump’s decision to launch Operation Epic Fury against Iran on Saturday in a joint operation with Israel followed weeks of behind-the-scenes pressure from Israel and Saudi Arabia, the Washingron Post reported on Sunday, citing accounts from officials and regional sources.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly pushed for strikes against Iran, while Saudi Arabia’s role appeared more complex.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reportedly made several private phone calls to Trump over the past month, pushing for an attack despite publicly endorsing a diplomatic solution, the Washington Post reported.
Simultaneously, Riyadh released a statement that the state would not allow its territory to be used in the event of an attack.
Salman reportedly warned US officials that if the strike didn’t happen soon, Iran would come away stronger and more dangerous.
Trump insists he had two main reasons for Operation Epic Fury
On Saturday, Trump told Axios that Operation Epic Fury was launched for two reasons: the first being the collapse of the US-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva, and the second being that the regime had begun to rebuild the nuclear facilities that had been struck during the Israel-Iran war in June
"The Iranians got close and then pulled back - close and then pulled back. I understood from that that they don't really want a deal," Trump explained.
Additionally, while preparing his speech announcing the operation, Trump requested his team compile a list of every Iranian-linked attack around the world over the past 25 years, and found that “every month they did something bad, blew something up or killed someone.”