Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs accused Iran as “the world’s chief sponsor of terrorism”

[Major]

Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir while being a guest to Pakistan accused Iran as “the world’s chief sponsor of terrorism”.

Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel bin Ahmed Al-Jubeir on Monday accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism for decades, saying it was "strange [for] the foreign minister of the world's chief sponsor of terrorism to accuse others of engaging in terrorist activities".

The minister, who is part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman's visiting delegation, was addressing a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi in Islamabad.

When asked about Tehran's recent allegations that held Pakistan responsible for an attack that killed more than 20 members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Qureshi said that he had assured Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif that Pakistan would "never condone [any terrorist] activity".

"We have always condemned such activity. Iran is our neighbour and we would never cause any problem for them," Qureshi said. "We respect their sovereignty and territorial integrity and I'm sure they respect ours."

He said that Pakistan would be "helpful" if Iran comes forward with any evidence. He recalled that Pakistan had cooperated with Iran in the past to "overcome these difficulties".

The Saudi minister, meanwhile, questioned how Iran — which he called "the world's chief sponsor of terrorism" — could accuse others of engaging in terrorist activities.

He accused Iran of "sponsoring" terrorism "since the Iranian revolution of 1979", adding that Iran had "established terrorist groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen. He said that "Iran had been implicated" in terrorist attacks that took place in other countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United States.

Al-Jubeir went on to accuse Iran of providing arms to terrorist groups and interfering in other countries' affairs as well as "harbouring" terrorists of Al Qaeda, "including Osama bin Laden's son".

"Saudi Arabia has been a victim of terrorism," he asserted. "We have been vigilant and unmerciful in going after the terrorists and those who support them and condone them."

"We wish to eliminate the scourge of terrorism from the face of this planet," he said, adding that the Iranian regime was "deflecting blame because it was facing pressure from the people".

Regional stability
Speaking on the regional situation, the Saudi state minister said that peace in Afghanistan would be of "benefit" to the entire region, including Saudi Arabia.

He said that the Saudi Arabian regime had been working with Pakistan, Afghanistan, the United States and the United Arab Emirates to "facilitate an agreement between the Taliban and Afghan government" in order to "move Afghanistan towards peace".

He also addressed the frosty relations between India and Pakistan and said that Saudi Arabia's "objective" was to "try to deescalate tensions" between the neighbouring countries. He hoped that both countries would be able to resolve the dispute between them "peacefully".

The statements come amid growing tensions between India and Pakistan after the former accused Islamabad of sponsoring an attack in Pulwama district of occupied Kashmir, that killed 44 Indian soldiers.

The Saudi crown prince's agenda includes a visit to India.

'Investment, not charity'
Stressing the importance of Pakistan-Saudi ties, Al-Jubeir said that the Kingdom had a "strategic interest" in Pakistan. He said that several Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) and agreements were signed between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, "three of which involved investment in excess of $20 million", including one regarding an oil refinery in Gwadar Port.

He said that the agreements and MoUs were "just the beginning", making clear that "this is not charity — this is an investment".

"There is benefit for both sides. If we didn't believe in Pakistan, we wouldn't have been looking at these investments," he added.

"We are looking for ways to enhance contact between the business communities in our two countries. We are looking for ways to institutionalise the relationship between our two great nations across the board in all government departments."

Jubeir said that the Supreme Coordination Council (SCC) — that has been established to boost political, diplomatic and trade ties — would "involve almost every facet of our governments; whether it's security, political consultation, trade and investment, or culture".

The Saudi minister hoped that both countries would overcome the challenges they have been facing. He thanked the Pakistani government for its "hospitality and also [its] friendship".

Lauding the Kingdom's move to reduce visa fee for Pakistanis, Foreign Minister Qureshi hoped that Saudi Arabia would respond similarly to Prime Minister Imran Khan's requests to make the immigration process for Haj pilgrims easier.'

https://www.dawn.com/news/1464583

 

[Major]

Mubarak ho jee.

It hasnt been 24 hrs yet, and we have already been dragged into Saudi foreign policies.

He mde these comments while seated in Pakistan

So Pakistan will have to stay anti iran now

 

[LongHorn]

Judging by FB comments (which I realize isn't always an accurate indicator), a lot of Pakistanis are now anti-Qatar, anti-Turkey and anti - Iran

 

[CricVet]

Judging by FB comments (which I realize isn't always an accurate indicator), a lot of Pakistanis are now anti-Qatar, anti-Turkey and anti - Iran

Take a poll from Pakistanis, you will not find a nation more pro turkey. Facebook is full of trolls and we have a bunch here as well.

 

[Bewal Express]

We need to find a way of bringing Iran and Saudi to realise that both will lose if there is a war.

 

[Bewal Express]

Mubarak ho jee.

It hasnt been 24 hrs yet, and we have already been dragged into Saudi foreign policies.

He mde these comments while seated in Pakistan

So Pakistan will have to stay anti iran now

Maybe you can see why the billions stolen by the PPP and the Nooras has made it neigh on impossible for IK to keep PK afloat and have a totally independent Foreign policy. None of you supporters ever understood that corruption is not free money, it does have serious consequences. Your friend tells us that Corruption is not even a problem, well here is yours and his evidence.

 

[Greenstorm]

Saudis can say whatever they want, Pakistan will stay neutral.

 

[szundercover]

Take a poll from Pakistanis, you will not find a nation more pro turkey. Facebook is full of trolls and we have a bunch here as well.

International match fixers are playing their part as always.

 

[Gabbar Singh]

Lashing out at Iran whilst you are a guest in a third country and that to at an official press conference with your hosts? That’s quite something.

 

[Pakpak]

Lashing out at Iran whilst you are a guest in a third country and that to at an official press conference with your hosts? That’s quite something.

US does this about us everytime they visit India. I don't see Indians lining up to condemn that.

 

[Pakistanian]

Mubarak ho jee.

It hasnt been 24 hrs yet, and we have already been dragged into Saudi foreign policies.

He mde these comments while seated in Pakistan

So Pakistan will have to stay anti iran now

He's just trying to impress Pakistan after what some iranian army dude said. Both countries respect Pakistan so it isn't big deal.

 

[troodon]

We need to find a way of bringing Iran and Saudi to realise that both will lose if there is a war.

Shia and Sunni Muslims have been at each others throat the moment Prophet Mohammed died. They call each other Kafirs and Its been going on for over 1400 years now. What can Pakistan do? It neither have the money power nor the muscle power to bully Saudi and Iran to talk about peace.

 

[troodon]

Saudi's have put Pakistan in an awkward position.

 

[JaDed]

Saudi's have put Pakistan in an awkward position.

Not really, Pak has always been known to take a stand and tbf it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, they were right at supporting NATO Initially till war came next door, IK has been going pro Arab and China..and doing everything for funding makes sense to me as i have never believed in non-alignment movements of India in initial years

 

[troodon]

Not really, Pak has always been known to take a stand and tbf it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't, they were right at supporting NATO Initially till war came next door, IK has been going pro Arab and China..and doing everything for funding makes sense to me as i have never believed in non-alignment movements of India in initial years

If IK comes out now in support of Saudi Arabia, Iran will treat Pak as an enemy state.

The best that Pak can do is to come out and say that it is the opinion of Saudi Arabia and not Pak's opinion. But that can anger Saudis who is ready to invest billions in Pakistan.

 

[JaDed]

If IK comes out now in support of Saudi Arabia, Iran will treat Pak as an enemy state.

The best that Pak can do is to come out and say that it is the opinion of Saudi Arabia and not Pak's opinion. But that can anger Saudis who is ready to invest billions in Pakistan.

Their choice honestly, they have already conferred Nishan e Pakistan On Mbs seems extensive

 

[troodon]

Their choice honestly, they have already conferred Nishan e Pakistan On Mbs seems extensive

What has MBS done to deserve that?

 

[Bewal Express]

Shia and Sunni Muslims have been at each others throat the moment Prophet Mohammed died. They call each other Kafirs and Its been going on for over 1400 years now. What can Pakistan do? It neither have the money power nor the muscle power to bully Saudi and Iran to talk about peace.

True, but it's going to end at some points. If they kick off, we lose.

 

[hussain.r97]

Shia and Sunni Muslims have been at each others throat the moment Prophet Mohammed died. They call each other Kafirs and Its been going on for over 1400 years now. What can Pakistan do? It neither have the money power nor the muscle power to bully Saudi and Iran to talk about peace.

Shias and Sunnis have not at been at each others throats, we have lived in peace for a long time. It has been rulers who killed Shias, not regular Sunnis. Shiism being considered a 'sect' is something fairly recent, otherwise someone who was Shia was simply a Muslim who held the political position that the caliph should be someone from the line of the Prophet through his daughter, Fatima.

Iran vs Saudi Arabia is not Shia vs Sunni, but for some reason, that is how it is painted. I am a Shia does not support or associate with Iran, and there are plenty of Shias like me. The ideology of Iran is only supported by those Shias who subscribe to the 'Wilayatul Faqih' ideology of Ayatollah Khomeini, which states that the supreme leader of Iran is the 'faqih' of this time, and holds the same function and authority as the twelve Imams. The vast majority of Shias are not part of this school of thought, a huge amount follow Ayatollah Sistani (from Iraq). There is huge discontent against Iran amongst the Shias of Iraq (and other Arab countries), don't let Iran calling themselves the leader of all Shias let you believe that they are, they have done nothing but corrupt Shiism.

As far as I am concerned, both Iran and Saudi Arabia are the leading sponsors of extremism, war, and violence in the region. Pakistan shouldn't let either one have too much influence, just make deals with that that benefit Pakistan, nothing more. Trying to get them to make peace is pointless, the fight is not Shia vs Sunni, it is a fight between two huge egos vying for regional domination.

 

[Pakistanian]

Just met a Saudi Shia, he says he prefers Iran over Saudi culturally even though he's on full scholarship here paid for by the kingdom lol.

I think Pakistan should maintain neutrality, it has bothnthe second largest shia and sunni population. We don't have the centuries of bad blood thry have in places like lebanon and yemen.

 

[rhony]

Does Pakistan buy Oil from both countries? As long as they do, there is no need to make a statement supporting either. Money talks more than religion or politics.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-saudi/saudi-arabia-says-it-is-concerned-about-iran-uranium-enrichment-idUSKBN2C11MZ?il=0

Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it was concerned about Iran’s intention to start enriching uranium to 60% purity and said such a move could not be considered part of a peaceful nuclear programme.

A foreign ministry statement called on Iran to avoid escalation and engage seriously in talks with global powers about a 2015 nuclear pact. The statement also urged the international community to reach an agreement “with stronger parameters of a longer duration”.

Iran’s announcement about its plan to enrich to 60%, bringing the fissile material closer to the 90% level suitable for a nuclear bomb, came after Tehran accused Israel of sabotaging a key nuclear installation and ahead of the resumption of nuclear talks in Vienna.

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies, who are also worried about Iran’s ballistic missiles and regional network of proxies, had supported former U.S. President Donald Trump’s move to quit the accord in 2018 and re-impose harsh sanctions on Iran.

Iran responded by breaching several nuclear restrictions.

The Saudi foreign ministry statement on state media said any deal should “also take into consideration the deep concern of regional states over escalatory steps by Iran to destabilise regional security and stability, including its nuclear programme”.

Saudi Arabia and Iran have been locked in several proxy wars in the region, including in Yemen where the Iran-aligned Houthi movement has launched cross-border missile and drone attacks at the kingdom.

 

[mazkhan]

Pakistan should keep amicable relations with Iran, no need to get involved in this western agenda against Iran and then get burnt in process. Samething happened in Afghanistan twice once in soviet era and now during war on terror and both times Pakistan got the short straw and suffered .

Only good thing was because we were an ally of usa during Soviet era in Afghanistan we secretly developed our nuke capability without Americans causing us a problem.


If that was today I guarantee America would have invaded Pakistan and made sure Pakistan nuclear development programs were destroyed sameway Iran is suffering from sabotage and isolation now. No way will usa abd israel allow them to develop nuclear capability in arms.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://on.ft.com/3nvQGEE

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has said Saudi Arabia wants to resolve its differences with rival Iran, a marked shift in tone in the wake of the election of US President Joe Biden.

Prince Mohammed said in an interview on Saudi television that Riyadh did not want “the situation with Iran to be difficult” and wanted to build a “good and positive relationship” with the Islamic republic.

“We are working now with our partners in the region and the world to find solutions for these problems,” he said. “At the end of the day, Iran is a neighbouring country. All what we ask for is to have a good and distinguished relationship with Iran.”

His comments late on Tuesday, come days after the Financial Times revealed that top Saudi and Iranian intelligence officials held secret talks this month in Baghdad in an effort to repair relations between the regional powerhouses. The rivals severed diplomatic ties five years ago.

Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s day-to-day leader, has regularly railed against Iran, accusing the republic of stoking conflict in the Middle East and seeking to destabilise Saudi Arabia. In 2018, he likened Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Adolf Hitler.

At the time, he was a staunch backer of former president Donald Trump’s decision to unilaterally withdraw the US from the nuclear deal Iran signed with world powers and impose crippling sanctions on the Islamic republic.

As Riyadh backed Trump’s maximum pressure campaign, the former US president stood by Prince Mohammed after the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents triggered the kingdom’s biggest diplomatic crisis in decades.

But Biden has promised to reassess relations with the kingdom and has been critical of human rights abuses in the kingdom, including Khashoggi’s brutal murder. He has also pledged to rejoin the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and lift sanctions if Tehran falls back into full compliance with the accord.

The Biden administration has also intensified diplomatic efforts to end the six-year war in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is fighting Houthi rebels aligned to Iran. Prince Mohammed sought to play down any differences with Washington, saying the kingdom was “in agreement with the Biden administration on more than 90 per cent of Saudi-US interests”.

“There is no such thing as a completely 100 per cent agreement between two countries, even with the Gulf countries, the closest ones,” he said. “There usually are some kind of differences, which is something you’d find in the same house, where brothers don’t agree 100 per cent on everything.”

Since Biden’s election, Prince Mohammed has ended a three-year regional embargo on Qatar and Riyadh has released some activists. Analysts say the moves were at least partly motivated by a desire to improve the crown prince’s standing in Washington.

There has been speculation that Riyadh has been keen to reduce tension with Iran since a missile and drone attack in September 2019 temporarily knocked out half of the kingdom’s crude oil output. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, but US and Saudi officials blamed Iran.

Riyadh opposes the nuclear deal with Iran, which it fears will embolden Tehran and provide it with funding to back its regional proxies. But Saudi officials have said Saudi Arabia will not seek to hinder the nuclear talks.

Saudi Arabia, which considers itself the leader of the Sunni Muslim world, and Iran, the region’s top Shia power, severed diplomatic relations in early 2016. The kingdom’s embassy in Tehran was ransacked after Riyadh executed a senior Shia cleric.

Diplomats say Saudi Arabia is also serious about its desire to exit the war in Yemen, where it backs the government that was ousted by the Houthis in 2015. The Houthis have stepped up their attacks on Saudi Arabia this year. Prince Mohammed repeated a Saudi offer of a ceasefire in Yemen as long as the Houthis agreed to a truce and to participate in negotiations.

 

[MenInG]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">We welcome the KSA initiative for peace with Iran. Iran is our neighbour and KSA our closest friend. This peace initiative will strengthen the Muslim Ummah. <a href="https://t.co/LXj0pRiYFp">https://t.co/LXj0pRiYFp</a></p>— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ImranKhanPTI/status/1387473020114149378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 28, 2021</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

[Last Monetarist]

Seems like MBS has had his wings clipped without Trump prepared to protect his reckless instincts from Washington. First the rapprochement with Qatar and now a potential thawing with Iran.

Vision 2030 appears to be on the ropes as well, which is why they are negotiating a minority sale in Aramco to the Chinese state.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iraq-has-hosted-more-than-one-round-saudi-iranian-talks-president-2021-05-05/

Iraq has hosted more than one round of talks between regional foes Iran and Saudi Arabia, Iraqi President Barham Salih said on Wednesday.

Salih made his remarks during an interview broadcast live online with the Beirut Institute think tank. He gave no more details.

Diplomats hope the opening of direct channels between Iran and Saudi Arabia will signal a calming of tensions across the Middle East after years of hostilities that have brought the region close to a full-scale conflict.

Baghdad hosted talks between officials from its two neighbours and mutual adversaries on April 9 in the only round of talks to have been previously reported.

Asked how many rounds of Saudi-Iranian talks Iraq had hosted, Salih replied: "More than once."

Washington and Tehran have engaged in indirect talks in Vienna that seek to revive an international pact reached in 2015 that constrained Iran's nuclear ambitions in return for sanctions relief.

Former U.S. President Donald Trump pulled out the deal in 2018 and imposed harsh sanctions on Iran and its regional allies, increasing tension as Iran-backed militias attacked U.S. forces in Iraq and a series of attacks hit oil installations and tankers in the Gulf, where Washington counts Arab states such as Saudi among its close allies.

The killing of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in a U.S. air strike in Baghdad in January 2020 brought the region close to war. Iran responded with limited missile strikes against a U.S. base in Iraq, the first such direct attack, but took no further action.

Iraqis hope for a general regional detente that would allow their country to rebuild instead of being used as an arena for U.S., Gulf Arab and Iranian score-settling.

Iraq is trying to rein in powerful Iran-backed militias and deal with a resurgent Islamic State - the Sunni hardline Islamist group that took over a third of Iraq in 2014 and was beaten militarily in 2017 by U.S. forces, the Iraqi military, Kurdish fighters and Iran-aligned paramilitaries.

"The war against ISIS (Islamic State) and terrorism cannot be won by (only) military means," Salih said. "We have succeeded in liberating our land with the help of our friends but terrorism remains."

He added that he wished to see a solution to the Iran-U.S. rivalry that has fuelled violence in Iraq.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-official-confirms-talks-with-iran-says-premature-assess-outcome-2021-05-07/

A Saudi foreign ministry official said on Friday that talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran aim to reduce regional tensions, but added it was too early to judge the outcome and Riyadh wanted to see “verifiable deeds”.

The comments by Ambassador Rayed Krimly, head of policy planning at the ministry, were the first public confirmation from Riyadh that the rivals - who severed ties in 2016 - were holding direct talks.

"As to current Saudi-Iranian talks they aim to explore ways to reduce tensions in the region," Krimly told Reuters.

"We hope they prove successful, but it is too early, and premature, to reach any definitive conclusions. Our evaluation will be based on verifiable deeds, and not proclamations."

He declined to provide details on the talks, but regional officials and sources had told Reuters that the discussions were focused on Yemen and the 2015 nuclear deal between global powers and Iran, which Riyadh had opposed.

Iraq's president said on Wednesday that Baghdad hosted more than one round of talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran, who have been locked in a rivalry that has played out in proxy conflicts across the region, including Yemen. read more

Krimly said Saudi policy had been explained "very clearly" by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who last month said that while the Sunni Muslim kingdom has a problem with Tehran's "negative behaviour" it wanted good relations with Shi'ite Iran. Tensions between Riyadh and Tehran have festered over the Yemen war, where an Iran-aligned Houthi group has increased attacks on Saudi Arabia. Strains between the two Gulf powerhouses also grew after a 2019 assault on Saudi oil plants that Riyadh blamed on Iran, a charge Tehran denies.

Riyadh supported former U.S. President Donald Trump's decision in 2018 to quit the nuclear pact for not addressing Tehran's missiles programme and regional behaviour. After Trump re-imposed sanctions on Iran, Tehran responded by breaching several nuclear restrictions.

Global powers are trying at talks in Vienna to bring the United States and Iran back into full compliance with the deal. Saudi Arabia has urged them to reach a stronger accord.

Riyadh and Tehran have also backed opposing sides in Lebanon and Syria, where Iran has supported President Bashar al-Assad.

Gulf states have been alarmed by the rising influence of non-Arab Iran, Russia and Turkey in Syria, especially after Syria's membership of the Arab League was suspended in 2011 over its crackdown on protesters at the start of the civil war.

Krimly said recent media reports that the head of Saudi intelligence had held talks in Damascus were inaccurate.

He said Saudi policy towards Syria remained based on support for the Syrian people, for a political solution under a United Nations umbrella and in accordance with Security Council resolutions, and for the unity and Arab identity of Syria.

 

[Last Monetarist]

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/saudi-arabia-sees-emboldened-iran-around-middle-east-2021-08-03/

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister said on Tuesday he sees an emboldened Iran acting in a negative manner around the Middle East, endangering shipping, arming Yemen's Houthis and contributing to political deadlock in Lebanon.

"All around the region, Iran continues to be emboldened," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told a U.S. think tank in an online appearance, alluding to reports that Iranian-backed forces were believed to have seized an oil tanker off the coast of the United Arab Emirates.

"Iran is extremely active in the region with its negative activity, whether it's continuing to supply the Houthis with weapons or endangering shipping in the Arabian Gulf, which we have got reports coming in today that may indicate additional activity there," he said. Iran, he added, had abetted the political impasse that has undermined Lebanon's economy.

Addressing a virtual gathering of the Aspen Security Forum, he also repeated Riyadh's stance that it could live with a "longer and stronger" version of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with world powers if it ensured Tehran never obtained nuclear arms know-how.

"We certainly support a deal with Iran as long as that deal ensures that Iran will not now or ever gain access to nuclear weapons technology," he said, saying Riyadh would welcome an Iran that contributed to regional stability and prosperity.

"But that would require (Iran) engaging in the region as a state actor in a normal way..., not supporting militias, not sending weapons to armed groups, and most importantly, giving up a nuclear program which might be used...to develop nuclear weapons."

 

[MenInG]

Speaker of the Saudi Shura Council, Abdullah bin Muhammad Al-Sheikh, has called on regional rival Iran to cooperate and adhere to the principle of non-interference in the affairs of other countries.

This came during a meeting of the heads of the Shura Councils of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the Omani capital, Muscat, according to Saudi media.

"The kingdom calls on Iran, as a neighbour whose people we have religious and cultural ties with, to cooperate with the countries of the region by adhering to the principles of international legitimacy," he said.

He added that Riyadh calls on Tehran “not to interfere in the domestic affairs of other countries, to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, and to fulfil its obligations in this regard."

Saudi Arabia and Iran severed their diplomatic relations in 2016 following an attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran after Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr was executed by Saudi authorities.

Their relationship further nosedived after Iran in September 2016 accused Riyadh of deliberately causing the death of around 400 Iranian pilgrims in a 2015 stampede in the Muslim holy city of Makkah.

The two sides have since been engaged in a strong regional rivalry, often accusing each other of waging a proxy war for regional influence.

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2377786/saudi-arabia-urges-iran-not-to-interfere-in-domestic-affairs