Saudi prince says war unlikely with Iran

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince, widely thought to wield considerable power in the monarchy, has given an interview to a magazine in which he says he doesn’t believe the kingdom and Iran will go to war.

Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also defended the kingdom’s execution of a Shiite cleric in the interview with The Economist magazine, published online Thursday night.

Asked about the possibility of war, Prince Mohammed said: “It is something that we do not foresee at all, and whoever is pushing towards that is somebody who is not in their right mind. Because a war between Saudi Arabia and Iran is the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region. … For sure we will not allow any such thing.”

In defending the sheikh’s execution, Prince Mohammed says: “The court did not, at all, make any distinction between whether or not a person is Shiite or Sunni. They are reviewing a crime, and a procedure, and a trial, and a sentence and carrying out the sentence.”

The magazine said it conducted the interview on Monday. The kingdom severed relations with Iran late Sunday.