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Mohammad Bin Salman

Saudi Def. Minister expresses concerns over 'extremist' Iran

The Saudi deputy crown prince attacks Iran's behavior and accuses it of trying to take over the Islamic world: 'How can we reach an understanding with a regime based on extremist ideology?' He also criticizes US conduct in Syria: 'Obama missed many opportunities to introduce change.'

Saudi Defense Minister Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud expressed in an interview reservations about the possibility of a dialogue with Iran in the future. Bin Salman accused Iran of saying that its ambitions were to take over the Islamic world.

 

 

"Saudi Arabia, the prayer direction of Muslims (because of the location of the holy city of Mecca), is a central goal for the Iranian regime," he said, adding: "How can we reach an understanding with a regime whose faith is based on extremist ideology?"

 

Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud
Mohammad Bin Salman Al Saud

 

The son of the king and the deputy crown prince said that unlike talks Saudi Arabia is holding with countries with which negotiations are possible despite their differences, the country has no points of contact with Iran.

 

"We know that we, in Saudi Arabia, are a central target for the Iranian regime. Reaching … Mecca is a target for the Iranian regime. We will not wait for the battle to reach Saudi Arabia, and we will act so that the battle takes place in Iran and not in Saudi Arabia," he said.

 

Bin Salman also referred to the civil war in Syria and took the opportunity to criticize former US President Barack Obama. "He wasted many opportunities to introduce change in Syria. The situation there is very complicated," he said.

 

The prince dismissed the reports of tension between his country and Egypt and said that officials in both countries did not harbor negative attitudes toward each other. "Those spreading the rumors are the media of the Muslim Brotherhood and Iranian propagandists." 

 

(Photo: MCT)
(Photo: MCT)

 

When asked about the issue of the islands of Sanafir and Tiran in the Red Sea, the Saudi official claimed that the islands are registered both in Egypt and internationally.

 

The prince added that the delineation of borders was intended to generate economic profits for both sides, and the countries were continuing their plan to establish a land bridge between them in the name of King Salman. He also promised that the cornerstone will be laid before 2020.

 

Bin Salman went on to say that on the matter of the war in Yemen that the forces of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, supported by Saudi Arabia, control 80-85 percent of the country's territory. Bin Salman made it clear that within a few days the campaign might be decided.

 

He said the president's forces would uproot the Houthi rebels and their partners, but it would exact a heavy price on their side as well as on the citizens in Yemen. "We have great patience," he said, also bragging that the operation of the Arab coalition in Yemen was much more successful, in his view, than the operation of the international coalition against the "Islamic State" in Syria and Iraq.

 

(Translated and edited by N. Elias)

 


פרסום ראשון: 05.03.17, 11:58
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