Washington – Asharq Al-Awsat-24 March, 2018 – Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir stressed on Friday that Iran must change its behavior and stop supporting terrorism in the region.
“If Iran wants to have a role in the region, it must change its aggressive policies,” he told reporters at the Saudi embassy in Washington on the sidelines of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to the US.
“It must abandon the principle of exporting the revolution and abide by international laws and the principle of non-interference in the affairs of others.”
Commenting on recent remarks by Iranian FM Mohammed Javad Zarif that Tehran was ready to protect Saudi Arabia should it come under any attack, Jubeir stated: “His statements are often strange.”
“The Kingdom does not need anyone to defend it,” he added.
On Prince Mohammed’s US tour, he said that his talks with American administration officials tackled counter-terrorism efforts and regional developments. The meetings stressed the American-Saudi partnership and witnessed the signing of numerous cooperation agreements.
On Trump’s appointment of John Bolton as his new national security advisor, Jubeir said that his stance on Iran was “reasonable,” adding that Riyadh looks forward to cooperating with him in the future.
Turning to Yemen, the minister said that Tehran has employed militias there. These militias have fired ballistic missiles towards Saudi Arabia.
Iran must withdraw from Yemen and stop providing terrorist militias with missiles and abide by international resolutions, he demanded.
