U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Saudi Arabia's de-facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Monday to kick off his latest Middle East tour amid Israel's war on Gaza.
Blinken's meeting with the Saudi leader lasted about two hours. Blinken did not respond to shouted questions from reporters on how it went as he returned to his hotel, but waved as he walked by.
Saudi officials have said the kingdom is still interested in normalizing relations with Israel in a potentially historic deal, but only if there is a credible plan to create a Palestinian state.
Blinken "underscored the importance of addressing humanitarian needs in Gaza and preventing further spread of the conflict," and he and the crown prince discussed "the importance of building a more integrated and prosperous region," the State Department said in a statement.
Blinken is set to visit Egypt next, followed by Qatar, Israel and the Israeli-occupied West Bank this week, as he pushes to advance the Egyptian- and Qatari-mediated conversations with the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on a deal to free Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
His Middle East trip, the fifth since the Oct. 7 Hamas incursion, takes place during a period that senior U.S. officials describe as one of the most dangerous for the region in decades.
The conflict has escalated as Iranian-backed groups have entered the fray and fired on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria, while Yemen's Houthis attacked shipping routes in the Red Sea.
The U.S. has been carrying out retaliatory strikes on Iran-backed militias across Syria, Iraq and Yemen in response to a drone strike last week in Jordan that killed three American troops and wounded dozens.
Blinken will nevertheless try to reinforce the message that the Biden administration neither seeks war with Iran nor wants the conflict to spread further despite calls by some opposition Republicans in Congress advocating for attacks inside Iran.
The Pentagon also said it does not believe Tehran wants war either. Iran has so far avoided any direct role in the conflict, even as it backs those militia groups.
A key priority is for Blinken to "deliver a message directly to countries in the region that the United States does not want to see the conflict escalated and will not escalate the conflict," a senior U.S. official had told reporters en route to Riyadh.
"It's important to show up and say it on one-on-one," they added.
