Saudi envoy met with Trump, shared message on Iran from crown prince

The White House did not announce the meeting in advance or issue a readout afterward.

• Senior adviser Jared Kushner, national security adviser Robert O'Brien and deputy national security adviser Victoria Coates also attended the meeting.
• Prince Khalid, a former ambassador to Washington, also met yesterday with Secretary of State Pompeo and Secretary of Defense Esper.
• Pompeo told him the U.S. does not seek war with Iran and remains committed to de-escalation, a State Department statement said.
• According to a report in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Pompeo and Esper discussed with the Saudi official the U.S. plans to secure American embassies and American interests in the region from an Iranian retaliation.

What they're saying: Jonathan Karl, president of the White House Correspondents' Association, said in a statement:

"A meeting with a foreign leader in the Oval Office should, at the very least, be on the public schedule with a read-out of the meeting released after it is over. This has been the long-standing precedent for presidents of both political parties. It is disturbing to see the government of Saudi Arabia have more transparency than the White House about a meeting with the President in the Oval Office."

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