Saudi Arabia urges tough line on Iran
AGREEMENT MUST ENSURE TEHRAN WILL NEVER GET NUCLEAR BOMB — MOHAMMAD BIN SALMAN
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman has made clear his opposition to the Iran nuclear deal in an interview with the New York Times.
“Delaying it and watching them [Iranians] getting that bomb, that means you are waiting for the bullet to reach your head. So you have to move from today.”
The United States and other world powers reached a 2015 agreement with Iran to curb its nuclear programme in exchange for lifting sanctions on the country.
However, some American officials, including President Donald Trump, have criticised the agreement and threatened to repeal it.
Prince Mohammad accused Iran of seeking to acquire nuclear weapons so that it could act freely in the region without fear of retribution. “We know the target of Iran,” he said.
“If they have a nuclear weapon, it’s a shield for them to let them do whatever they want in the Middle East, to make sure that no one attacks them or they will use their nuclear weapons.”
He said that the current nuclear agreement should be replaced with one that would ensure that Iran never obtained a nuclear weapon while also addressing Iran’s other activities in the Middle East.
On Yemen, Prince Mohammad said Al Houthis, the Iranian-aligned militia that took over the capital, Sana’a, in 2014, were increasingly isolated politically.
Saudi Arabia and the UAE gave $930 million (Dh3.4 billion) to UN humanitarian efforts in Yemen on Tuesday as a war between a Saudi-led military coalition and Yemen’s Al Houthi militants enters its fourth year.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman presented the previously pledged donation to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as the two discussed Yemen.
The Arab world’s poorest country is in the grips of a stalemated war and what the UN calls the worst humanitarian crisis, with 22 million people needing aid.
Guterres thanked Prince Mohammad for the contribution, which covers nearly a third of the total the UN is seeking for Yemen humanitarian aid this year.
“On the other hand, we know that there is no humanitarian solution for humanitarian problems,” Guterres added.
“The solution is political, and we are entirely at your disposal to work together to find a political solution when that becomes possible.”
The UN said Guterres and the prince also discussed protecting civilians and needs for humanitarian access and open ports.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir called the meeting “very productive and comprehensive.”
He said the two talked about avoiding foreign intervention in Yemen, particularly from Iran.
Iran’s intervention
Western countries and UN researchers have accused Iran of supplying arms to the Yemeni militants, known as Al Houthis.
There is a growing body of evidence to support the claim.
The US provides logistical support and weaponry to the Saudiled coalition.
Al Houthis and their allies seized Yemen’s capital, Sana’a, in September 2014.
The war began six months later, with the coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognised government. Over 10,000 people have been killed.
On Sunday, the rebels fired a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting Saudi Arabia.
Fragments of one missile that went over Riyadh, the Saudi capital, killed one person and wounded two.
Saudi Arabia vowed a powerful response against the ‘provocative terrorist attacks’.
A bleak future for children
Meanwhile, on Tuesday Unicef said that close to half a million Yemeni children have dropped out of school since 2015.
That brings the number of children without access to education to two million, as minors are increasingly recruited in the fighting, according to the UN children’s agency.
“An entire generation of children in Yemen faces a bleak future because of limited or no access to education,” said Meritxell Relano, Unicef’s Yemen representative.
“The journey to school has also become dangerous as children risk being killed en route,” Relano said.
“Fearing for their children’s safety, many parents choose to keep their children at home. The lack of access to education has pushed children and families to dangerous alternatives, including early marriage, child labour and recruitment into the fighting.”
At least 2,419 children have been recruited by armed groups since 2015, according to Unicef.
Another 4.5 million risk losing access to public schools as teachers have not been paid in more than a year amid a crisis that has seen Yemen reach the brink of official famine.