Skip to content
Bramble

World

Saudi defence minister discusses defence partnership with Hegseth and French counterpart

Prince Khalid bin Salman held separate phone calls on Thursday with US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin on defence cooperation and regional security.

2 outlets · 0L · 1C · 1R First reported Account updated
Image: Arab News
Image: Anadolu Agency

1 / 2

The story, neutrally told

Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth held a phone call on Thursday 1 October 2026 to review the Saudi-US strategic defence partnership. They also discussed coordinating efforts to strengthen regional security and stability, and other regional and international topics of mutual interest, according to Prince Khalid's post on X and a Saudi Defence Ministry statement. In a separate call the same day, Prince Khalid spoke with French Armed Forces Minister Catherine Vautrin about bilateral defence cooperation and regional challenges.

The two ministers discussed addressing regional challenges in a way that preserves international peace and security. Arab News said the calls came amid heightened regional tensions and a series of attacks on the Kingdom by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis, including a drone attack on the Taiba power distribution station in Madinah on Tuesday, according to the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen. On Saturday Saudi air defences intercepted two drones launched toward Riyadh and two ballistic missiles fired toward Khamis Mushayt, and two days earlier the coalition said it had intercepted six ballistic missiles launched toward Yanbu and Taif.

Saudi Arabia and the US signed a Strategic Defence Agreement during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to Washington in November 2025, which the White House said aims to strengthen the 80-year-plus defence partnership and bolster regional deterrence. The countries had earlier signed a nearly $142 billion defence sales package during Trump's May 2025 visit to Riyadh, covering air and missile defence, maritime and coastal security, border security, military modernization and communications.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.

Left0 outlets

No left outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Brief readout of both calls, attributed to the Saudi Defense Ministry, with the French call in the headline.
Emphasis
Cooperation and regional security across the US and French calls.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention Houthi attacks or the 2025 US-Saudi agreements.
For example
“Khalid bin Salman reviews defense cooperation, regional, international issues in separate calls” — Anadolu Agency

Right1 outlet

Framing
Leads with the Hegseth call, quoting Prince Khalid's X post, and places it against Houthi attacks and the US-Saudi defence agreements.
Emphasis
Houthi attacks on the Kingdom and the strategic and arms-sale background.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not say the call was the subject of a US readout.
Charged language
“Iran-backed Houthis”
For example
“The call comes amid heightened regional tensions and a series of attacks by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis targeting the Kingdom.” — Arab News