Saudi Arabia’s Foreign minister Adel al Jubeir rejected Iranian calls for dialogue saying Tehran was the main sponsor of terrorism in the world, a destabilizing force in the Middle East and wanted to “destroy” anyone who isn’t Shi’ite Muslim.
“Iran remains the single most, the biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world. Iran has as part of its constitution the principle of exporting the revolution. Iran does not believe in the principle of citizenship. It believes that the Shia, the dispossessed, as Iran calls them, all belong to Iran and not to their countries of origin. And this is unacceptable for us in the kingdom, for our allies in the Gulf and for any country in the world.” / “The Iranians have disrespected international law by attacking embassies, assassinating diplomats, by planting terror cells in other countries, by harboring and sheltering terrorists,” said al Jubeir.
The Saudi top diplomat echoed accusations levelled by Israel against the Islamic Republic of Iran, a fact that has prompted a response by Iranian Foreign minister Muhamad Javad Zarif, who accused Riyadh of cooperating with Jerusalem. While Saudi Arabia and Israel stopped short of saying they would cooperate to thwart Iran, the Foreign Ministry in Tehran said that Jerusalem and Riyadh are already working “hand in glove” in the Middle East and their matching assessments given came as no surprise to the Islamic Republic. It further stressed that Israel’s attempts to enlist a ‘Muslim Country’ in its efforts against Iran were ‘pathetic’. The Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem was not immediate available for comment on the matter.