Saudi Arabia supports efforts to prevent nuclear Iran: King Salman
PBC News: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz told the United Nations General Assembly that his kingdom supports efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, reports Reuters.
“The kingdom insists on the importance of keeping the Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction, on this basis we support international efforts aiming at preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons,” he said in a pre-recorded video address to the annual gathering.
Iran and Saudi Arabia, leading Shi’ite and Sunni Muslim powers in the Middle East, have been rivals for years, backing allies fighting proxy wars in Yemen, Syria and elsewhere. They cut diplomatic ties in 2016, but have been holding talks this year aimed at reducing tensions.
“Iran is a neighboring country, and we hope that our initial talks with it will lead to concrete results to build confidence … based on… respect of sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs,” King Salman said.
His remarks followed a call by Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi to resume nuclear talks with world powers that would lead to the removal of U.S. sanctions. read more
On Tuesday, the Saudi foreign minister met with his Iranian counterpart during the General Assembly, according to Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency.
