RULER SLAMS IRAN ‘INTERFERENCE’
King Salman also criticises Trump’s decision to move US embassy to Jerusalem
SAUDI Arabia’s King Salman Abdulaziz AlSaud yesterday slammed Iran’s “blatant interference” in regional affairs as Arab leaders met in the kingdom for an annual gathering.
Opening the 29th Arab League summit, the king also criticised the United States’ decision to transfer its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and described “terrorism” as the biggest challenge facing Arab leaders.
Seventeen leaders from across the Arab world — minus Syrian President Bashar al-Assad — gathered in the eastern city here for the summit, which this year comes as world powers face off over Syria and tensions rise between Riyadh and Teheran.
The meeting opened only 24 hours after a barrage of strikes launched by the US, Britain and France on targets they said were linked to chemical weapons development in Syria, which was suspended from the league seven years ago.
But Salman avoided any mention of Syria in his address, as a seat marked “Syrian Arab Republic” sat empty in the hall.
Instead, the king focused on rivalries with Iran — only 160km across the Gulf from here.
“We renew our strong condemnation of Iran’s terrorist acts in the Arab region and reject its blatant interference in the affairs of Arab countries,” the king said.
And despite being a stalwart ally of the US, the ruler also criticised US President Donald Trump’s controversial decision to transfer America’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
“We reiterate our rejection of the US decision on Jerusalem. East Jerusalem is an integral part of the Palestinian territories.”
Arab ministers at a preliminary meeting in Riyadh on Thursday focused heavily on blocking the move, unanimously condemning Trump’s decision.
Salman yesterday announced a US$150 million (RM579 million) donation for the maintenance of Islamic heritage in East Jerusalem.
Saudi Arabia is pushing for a tough, unified stance against its regional arch-rival Iran at the annual gathering of the 22-member Arab League. The two regional titans back opposing sides in a range of hotspots across the Middle East, including Lebanon and Syria and in Saudi Arabia’s southern neighbour Yemen.
Iran is backing Shia Houthi rebels that Riyadh opposes in Yemen and yesterday, Salman praised “the UN Security Council’s statement denouncing the Iranian-made ballistic missile fire on Saudi cities”.
The summit also comes with Saudi Arabia and Qatar locked in a months-long diplomatic standoff, with Riyadh accusing Doha of supporting extremists and being too close to Iran.
Tensions have eased slightly in recent months, but Qatar still only sent its representative to the Arab League to the summit.
Among the leaders in attendance was Sudan’s Omar alBashir, who walked the red carpet and was greeted by Salman.
Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for five counts of crimes against humanity, three counts of genocide and two counts of war crimes.