U.S. President Donald Trump spoke Friday with Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman to discuss Iran’s “escalatory behavior.”
In addition, the leaders “discussed Saudi Arabia’s critical role in ensuring stability in the Middle East and in the global oil market,” the White House said in a brief statement.
Oil prices have surged as much as 10% over the past week amid regional tensions that have been rising between the U.S. and Iran since Washington unilaterally withdrew last year from a landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany and the EU.