King urges Iran to quit aggression
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman has urged arch-rival Iran to abandon an expansionist ideology that has “harmed” its own people, following violent street protests in the Islamic republic.
A wave of demonstrations erupted in the sanctions-hit country on Friday after an announcement that petrol prices would be raised by as much as 200% with immediate effect.
“We hope the Iranian regime chooses the side of wisdom and realises there is no way to overcome the international position that rejects its practices, without abandoning its expansionist and destructive thinking that has harmed its own people,” the king told the consultative Shura Council on Wednesday.
The region’s leading Shia and Sunni powers have no diplomatic ties and are at odds over a range of issues, including the wars in Syria and Yemen.
“The kingdom has suffered from the policies and practices of the Iranian regime and its proxies,” King Salman said, quoted by the foreign ministry, adding that Riyadh does not seek war but is “ready to defend its people”.
Saudi leaders regularly accuse Iran of stirring conflicts by supporting Shia movements in the region. Tehran denies the charges and in turn says Riyadh supports radical Islamist groups.
King Salman said he hoped for a political settlement in Yemen, where the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have been fighting the Saudi-backed government for more than four years. Saudi Arabia intervened in 2015, shortly after the Houthis took over the capital Sanaa.
The king’s annual address to the Shura Council, which he uses to outline the kingdom’s domestic and international policy, was not aired on Saudi state television.
In previous years, the speech was broadcast live.