As the U.S.-Israeli attack against Iran enters its third week, President Donald Trump is in communication with Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman, who is said to be nudging the American president to hit Iran harder, says The New York Times.

The paper on Sunday reported that Mr Trump is in “regular” communication with the Saudi crown prince and other Arab leaders as the war lingers.

“According to several officials, the advice Mr Trump is getting from the prince is to keep hitting the Iranians hard—essentially repeating the advice that King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, who died in 2015, repeatedly gave to Washington: ‘Cut off the head of the snake,’” the report said.

Saudi authorities have yet to respond to the allegation that the crown prince is nudging Mr. Trump to hit Iran harder.

This follows a second report accusing Mr. Salman of secretly encouraging the U.S.-Israel-led Operation Epic Fury attack launched against Iran. 

The attack, first launched on February 28, killed Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and about 40 Iranian officials.

Earlier in the month, The Washington Post reported that Mr Salman secretly lobbied Mr Trump to launch an attack on Iran. 

However, Saudi authorities have denied claims that Mr Salman secretly lobbied the U.S. president to launch military strikes on Iran.

Fahad Nazer, spokesperson for the Saudi Embassy in Washington, said, “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been consistent in supporting diplomatic efforts to reach a credible deal with Iran. At no point in all our communication with the Trump Administration did we lobby the president to adopt a different policy.”