The Cradle@TheCradleMedia
Saudi Crown Prince identifies King Salman as sole obstacle to immediate Saudi normalization with Israel
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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman privately told evangelical leader and Trump ally Mike Evans that he is ready to recognize Israel immediately, but considers his father, King Salman, to be the primary obstacle. In a report published by The Jerusalem Post, Evans stated that during a two-hour meeting with the crown prince, which was also attended by the Saudi foreign minister and the crown prince's brother, the latter expressed a similar willingness to formalize ties with Israel.
Evans claimed the crown prince was sharply critical of Palestinians, alleging they wasted financial aid and should copy Israel rather than attack it, while also rejecting the concept of dividing Jerusalem into two capitals. The remarks surface as US President Donald Trump actively pushes to tie a potential deal with Iran to a major expansion of the Abraham Accords.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Trump is leveraging his diplomatic influence to press several Arab and Muslim-majority nations, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, and Turkey, into normalizing relations with Israel following a possible agreement to end the war with Iran. While Riyadh has historically maintained a public stance linking Israeli recognition to progress on Palestinian statehood, Evans argued that the current regional landscape has shifted and that Trump possesses the negotiation leverage to secure Saudi compliance.
Beyond regional normalization, Evans also detailed efforts by his organization, Friends of Zion, to counter rising non-interventionist and anti-Israel narratives within the US conservative movement. Speaking to The Jerusalem Post, Evans noted that his group mobilized 1,000 pastors for a social media campaign targeting media figure Tucker Carlson, whom Evans claimed has since been sidelined by Trump.
