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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz urged the world on Thursday (Nov. 12) to take “a decisive stance” to address Iran’s efforts to develop nuclear and ballistic missile programs, in an annual address to the highest advisory body. of the government.
“The kingdom highlights the dangers of Iran’s regional project, its interference in other countries, its fomenting of terrorism, its fanning the flames of sectarianism, and calls for a decisive stance from the international community against Iran that guarantees a drastic handling of its efforts to obtain weapons of mass destruction and develop its ballistic missile program, “said the king.
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They were the 84-year-old ruler’s first public comments since he addressed the United Nations General Assembly in September via video link, where he also took aim at Iran. Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran are locked in a decades-long struggle for influence in the region, supporting opposing sides in conflicts from Syria to Yemen.
There was no immediate reaction from Iran to the king’s comments. Tehran has previously described the Saudi statements against it as “baseless allegations” and denies that there are armed groups in the Middle East.
The state news agency SPA published a full transcript of the king’s speech after midnight. State television showed photos of what appeared to be the king virtually addressing council members from his palace in Neom.
King Salman was hospitalized for several days during the summer, suffering from an inflammation of the gallbladder for which he had surgery.
Tensions have risen in the region since US President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of a historic nuclear deal with world powers in 2018 and re-imposed strict economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed’s relationship with Trump had provided a buffer against international criticism about Riyadh’s rights record sparked by the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Riyadh’s role in the Yemen war, and the detention of women. activists.
Those areas may now become sticking points with US President-elect Joe Biden, who pledged in his campaign to reevaluate ties with the kingdom, a major US oil exporter and arms buyer.
READ: Saudi Arabia finally congratulates Biden on his victory
Saudi Arabia was an enthusiastic supporter of Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran. But Biden has said he would revert to a 2015 nuclear pact between world powers and Tehran, a deal negotiated when Biden was vice president in the Barack Obama administration.
In Yemen, where Saudi Arabia leads a military coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthis in a nearly six-year war that has killed tens of thousands, King Salman said the kingdom continues to support UN-led efforts to achieve a political agreement.
He also condemned the “deliberate and methodological” attacks by the Iranian-aligned Houthi movement against civilians inside Saudi Arabia via drones and ballistic missiles.
Riyadh was working to ensure the stability of global oil supplies to serve both producers and consumers, despite the impact of COVID-19 on oil markets, the king said.
He reiterated his long-standing support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but did not refer to the US-brokered agreements signed between the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan to normalize ties with Israel, part of a strategy. realignment against Iran.
Riyadh has quietly agreed to the UAE and Bahrain accords, though it has fallen short of backing them and has signaled that it is not ready to take action.
The king spoke days before the Group of 20 summit, which Saudi Arabia hosts practically this year.
Prince Mohammed had denied ordering Khashoggi’s assassination, but in 2019 he acknowledged some personal responsibility by saying it happened under his command. Riyadh has incarcerated eight people for between seven and 20 years in the case.
