Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said in a Thursday interview that Israel is part of the region and must be included in regional dialogue, while warning that an exclusively military approach will not serve its long-term interests. On the Strait of Hormuz, he said Saudi Arabia opposes any new arrangement imposed on the waterway and calls for a return to the status quo before the current conflict.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan laid out Riyadh's strategic position on Israel, Iran, and the Strait of Hormuz in a Thursday interview (June 18, 2026), four days after the Iranian parliament speaker declared the strait would not return to pre-war conditions — a position the Saudi minister explicitly rejected.
On Israel, bin Farhan stated that Israel is 'part of the region' and must be included in regional dialogue — but insisted that the Palestinians must also be part of that conversation. He was sharply critical of Israel's reliance on military means: 'I believe that Israel's insistence on relying solely on a military approach over time will significantly harm its own interests.' He called for a focus on diplomacy, in which the United States has a 'very important role.'
Regarding the crisis with Iran, the minister said Iran's attacks against Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Cooperation Council states created a 'significant crisis of trust.' He noted that the Beijing-brokered rapprochement with Iran was only at its beginning, and that the relationship has since regressed. Trust must be rebuilt before economic cooperation can resume.
On the Strait of Hormuz — a strategic chokepoint which Iran has sought to control since the outbreak of hostilities, and which the Iranian military officially confirmed enforcing a blockade on June 12 — bin Farran said the pre-war management 'worked well,' with no safety or environmental problems. 'I do not understand why, after the conflict, we must accept some new arrangement imposed on the strait,' he said. 'We must return to the previous situation. That worked well, and that should be the end of the story.'
Riyadh's position directly contradicts the stated policy of senior Iranian officials, who have insisted the strait's status has changed permanently. As The Zioneer reported June 17, parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf declared the strait 'will not return to pre-war conditions.' Bin Farhan's remarks represent the most senior Gulf Arab rejection of that Iranian position to date.
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