Trump, Saudi Crown Prince Discuss Iran, Human Rights Violations

US President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke over the phone on Tuesday to discuss “maintaining maximum pressure against Iran,” as well as human rights violations in the region, the White House said. Trump announced on Monday that he would designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization as of April 15, a move supported by the kingdom, which did the same in October. Riyadh has faced severe international scrutiny in the past few months, highlighted by the kingdom’s support for Yemen’s government in its conflict against Iran-backed Houthi rebels; the recent prosecution of women’s rights activists; and the October killing of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The US State Department on Monday publicly named 16 people associated with Khashoggi’s death and will bar them, as well as their families, from entering the United States.