Take firm stance against Iran, Saudi asks Arab League

Cairo : Saudi Arabia yesterday asked fellow Arab nations to take a “serious and honest” stand against Iran, saying that showing leniency toward Tehran would only encourage it to press on with its “aggression” and “meddling” in the internal affairs of Arab countries, the Associate Press reported yesterday.

Addressing a meeting of Arab foreign ministers in Cairo, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said the pan-Arab organization needed to take a decision to be “non-compromising” in dealing with Iran. 

He cited a ballistic missile fired by Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen earlier this month that was intercepted near the Saudi capital, Riyadh, as an example of how far Iran has gone with its aggressive policy in the region.

“Showing leniency toward Iran will not leave any Arab capital safe from those ballistic missiles,” he said.

 “We are obliged today to take a serious and honest stand... to counter these belligerent policies so that we can protect our security,” said Al-Jubeir.

The Saudi Foreign Minister  said his country was targeted by a total of 80 ballistic missiles fired by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Shiite militia since the Kingdom in 2015 led a coalition to fight them alongside the internationally recognized  government there.

Saudi Arabia, he added, will not stand idly by in the face of Iran’s “blatant aggression.”

Arab diplomats said a Saudi draft resolution put forward to the Arab ministers is proposing a declaration of solidarity with the Kingdom and stating Arab support for actions it might take to safeguard its national security in the face of Tehran’s policies. 

The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

The Saudi draft also includes a warning to Iran against continuing its present policies in the region and orders Arab diplomats to request a meeting of the U.N. Security Council to discuss what it called Iranian “threats,” added the diplomats.

The draft appears to be in sync with Saudi Arabia’s strong stance against Iran since the Houthis fired a missile on Nov. 4.  Along with that attack, the resolution cited the bombing of an oil pipeline in Bahrain also this month as an example of Iran’s threat to regional security.