Iranian FM Downplays S. Arabia's Military Threat

Rasa - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif played down the Saudi officials' war rhetoric against Tehran, and warned that Riyadh is only seeking to stir tension in the region.

News ID: 429570

Date: 10 May 2017 - 22:29

RNA - "The government of Saudi Arabia is after tension and this policy is dangerous and will bear no fruit for the country and has brought nothing but insecurity for Saudi Arabia," Zarif told reporters after a cabinet meeting in Tehran on Wednesday.

"Of course Saudi Arabia is not at a level to threaten the Islamic Republic," he underlined.

In relevant remarks on Sunday, Deputy Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazzayeri lashed out at Saudi Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman for his comments against Iran, stressing that Riyadh is acting as the US and Zionists' mercenary to take hostile measures against the Islamic states.

"The lies uttered by certain Saudi officials against Iran and the independent regional states are nothing new. Unfortunately, the Saudi regime is carrying out hostile acts against certain the Islamic states in the region for the sake of the US and the Zionists," Jazzayeri said.

He referred to Saudi Arabia's destructive war in Yemen, its pressures on the Bahraini people and its support for the terrorists in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, and said all these events show that the Zionists (who influence Riyadh) want the region to further be entangled in clashes.

Jazzayeri, meantime, underscored Iran's preparedness and vigilance to confront any plot by Saudi Arabia and the US and Zionists for conducting terrorist acts in Iran.

His comments came after Saudi Arabia’s deputy crown prince said in a recent interview that dialogue between his nation and Iran is impossible because of what he called as the latter’s “extremist ideology".

Mohammed bin Salman, who serves as Riyadh’s defense minister and is second in line to the throne, claimed that his country is a primary target for Iran and charged that Iran sought to control of the Islamic world. “We won’t wait for the battle to be in Saudi Arabia,” Prince Mohammed said, “instead, we’ll work so that the battle is for them in Iran.”

After his remarks, Iran's UN Ambassador Gholam Ali Khoshrou urged the global community to take action against Saudi Arabia’s support for terrorism and extremism.

"It is imperative for the international community to take necessary action to compel Saudi Arabia to stop its reckless sponsorship of terrorism and extremism in the region and across the globe," Khoshrou wrote in a Thursday letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council.

The Iranian diplomat expressed Tehran’s preparedness to hold dialogue with Saudi Arabia to promote regional peace despite "unlawful and inflammatory" remarks by bin Salman against Iran.

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