SaudiArabia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf hasaffirmed the success of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and ArabExtraordinary Summits and the support of the GCC and Arab countries for theposition of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates againstthe actions carried out by the Iranian-backed Houthi militias.
It also includedthe attack on two oil pumping stations in the Kingdom by using unmanned aerialvehicles and the acts of sabotage of commercial vessels near the territorialwaters of the United Arab Emirates.
TheMinister said that the GCC countries have the desire for peace and cooperationwith Iran, but Iran must stop supporting terrorist actions in our countries andbe a cooperative neighbor with Arab countries.
This came during a joint press conference held by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Makkah with the Secretary General of the Arab League Ahmed Aboul Gheit and the Secretary General of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) for Arab States, Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani.
Ministerof Foreign Affairs Dr. Ibrahim Al-Assaf said that the focus was on theterrorist attacks on vessels near the UAE's territorial waters and the droneattacks on two pumping stations in Afif and Dawadmi governorates, but everyoneknows that the attacks of the Iranian-backed terrorist Houthi militias on theKingdom are many and have so far reached 225 missiles and 155 drones. Theseattacks were continuous in the past, but they appear to be aiming at a hugeescalation in light of the current situation in the Gulf region as well asrelations between Iran and the United States, these attacks in our view havegoals beyond the goals of the previous attacks.
Askedabout Qatar's participation in the two summits at the level of the primeminister, if it is a beginning to solve the Gulf crisis, the Minister ofForeign Affairs explained that Qatar participated in the previous summits,stressing that the position of the Kingdom and the rest of the four countriesis to find a solution to the causes of the crisis between these countries andQatar, and there will be a solution if Qatar returns to the right path.
TheForeign Minister stressed that the concern from Iran is not only about itssupport for the Houthi militias and other terrorist groups, including theterrorist Hezbollah in Lebanon, but also their interference in the internalaffairs of some countries such as Bahrain. The biggest concern is Iran'sdevelopment of ballistic missiles and nuclear capabilities, pointing to thefact that this poses a direct threat to the Gulf States, and that Iran'stransgressions and support for the groups exceeded Arab and neighboringcountries to Latin America and America when they tried to assassinate the Saudiambassador in Washington.
Minister Dr. Al-Assaf stressed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's approach is clear and frank, as it has repeatedly called for constructive and peaceful relations with Iran, and the Kingdom is an open book and its international relations are known to the countries of the world, while Iran is isolated internationally.
