Jeddah, SAEDNEWS, Nov. 12: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud urged the world on Thursday to take “a decisive stance” to address efforts by Iran to develop nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, in his annual address to the top government advisory body.
“The kingdom stresses the dangers of Iran’s regional project, its interference in other countries, its fostering 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 missiles programme,” the king said.
They were the 84-year-old ruler’s first public remarks since he addressed the United Nations General Assembly in September via videolink, where he also took aim at Iran condemning its “expansionism“. Sunni Muslim-majority Saudi Arabia and Shia-dominated Iran are locked in several proxy wars in the region, including in Yemen where a Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Tehran-aligned Houthi movement for more than five years.
There was no immediate reaction from Iran to the king’s remarks. Tehran described the king’s UN remarks as “baseless allegations” and has denied arming groups in the Middle East.
State news agency SPA published a full transcript of the king’s speech after midnight, and state television broadcast photos of what appeared to be the king addressing council members via videolink from his palace in Neom.
Tensions have risen in the region since United States President Donald Trump pulled the US out of a landmark nuclear deal with world powers in 2018 and reimposed stringent economic sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
The relationship Trump shares with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) had provided a buffer against international criticism over Riyadh’s rights record sparked by the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Riyadh’s role in Yemen’s war and the detention of women activists. (Source: AlJazeera).
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