Donald Trump has said Saudi Arabia asked him to hold off on further strikes against Iran because the kingdom is “disintegrating”, in remarks that are likely to anger one of Washington’s closest allies.
The US president made the comment in an interview with sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith, released on Friday. “Saudi Arabia has asked me to please just let it be the way it is now for a while because they’re disintegrating,” Trump said.
Trump also boasted that he could destroy Iran within three days by attacking its civilian infrastructure, saying he could take out its energy facilities in one day, its bridges in another, and its manufacturing capacity in a third. He said Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain would also “much prefer the waiting period” before any further escalation.
The remarks come as Saudi Arabia faces sustained missile and drone attacks from Yemen’s Houthis. Strikes in October killed at least 22 people across three Saudi airports, and Houthi attacks have repeatedly hit Aramco energy infrastructure since a ceasefire collapsed in July.
A note on what Trump actually meant: the meaning of the word “disintegrating” is disputed. Middle East Eye, which first reported the remark, framed it as a description of Saudi Arabia. But the fuller transcript leaves the reference open: in the passage that follows, Trump describes a country with no money, unpaid soldiers and a destroyed navy and air force — a description that fits Iran, not Saudi Arabia. Other outlets have noted the ambiguity. The quote itself is verbatim from the interview transcript; the question of which country he was describing is not settled by the transcript alone.
The White House has not clarified the remark, and no response from Riyadh has been reported.
Sources: Middle East Eye — https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/trump-says-saudi-arabia-disintegrating (first reported the remark); Roll Call Factba.se transcript of the 12 November 2026 Stephen A. Smith interview; ZeroHedge — https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-says-saudi-arabia-disintegrating
