US President Donald Trump met with Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman on Wednesday.

Axar.az reports, citing Axios, that the meeting was added to the Saudi minister's itinerary after he met with Vice President Vance and told him that Saudi Arabia favors de-escalation with Iran — despite this week's joint U.S.-Saudi strike on pro-Iranian militias in Iraq.

The source told Axios that the purpose of the meetings was to deliver a message from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) about the war with Iran and the situation in the region.

The source added that Saudi Arabia had to deliver a strong response in Iraq in order to send a message to Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen and deter them from carrying out similar attacks against the kingdom.

The Saudi defense minister also told Vance on Wednesday that the kingdom can manage the situation with the Houthis and doesn't need the U.S. to get involved at this point. The Saudis are also negotiating with the Houthis, the source said.