How Mohammed bin Salman earned Trump's ear over Netanyahu

It’s increasingly clear that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is the Middle Eastern leader with the most influence over President Donald Trump. The de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, MBS is pushing Trump to seek a diplomatic resolution to the Iran war.

He’s succeeding. As a case in point, Trump suspended plans for major new strikes on Iran after a phone call with MBS over the weekend. A Saudi readout of the call observed that MBS had “stressed the need to give precedence to … de-escalate and the importance of exerting all possible efforts to achieve calm that paves the way for diplomatic solutions … and prevent being dragged into a wider conflict.”