Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook provided the following readout:
Today, Secretary of Defense Ash Carter and Saudi Arabia's Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense Mohammed bin Salman spoke by phone. They affirmed the importance of the U.S.-Saudi defense relationship, and discussed the security environment in the Middle East, to include ways to work together to strengthen cooperation on counterterrorism efforts. The Secretary welcomed Saudi Arabia's contributions to the counter ISIL coalition campaign, and they discussed ways to expand their cooperation. The Secretary and the Deputy Crown Prince agreed on the need to stay in close communication going forward.