Saudi Arabia says reserves right to respond after Iran attacks Riyadh, east

Saudi Arabia reiterated that its immediate priority in the ongoing Iran conflict is to halt attacks targeting Gulf countries, with Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud stressing that the Kingdom is focused on protecting regional stability, Al Jazeera reported. 

However, the country still reserves the right to take military action against Iran if provoked.

Speaking to reporters after a meeting of foreign ministers in Riyadh, the Saudi foreign minister said, ‘‘What I care about now is that the attacks on my country and on my neighbouring countries, that are not involved in this conflict, end. That’s all I’m interested in.’’

He added that Riyadh would use all available means to stop the attacks. ‘‘We are going to use every lever we have, political, economic, diplomatic ... to get these attacks to stop,’’ he said, as per Al Jazeera.

At the same time, Saudi Arabia warned that it reserves the right to respond militarily if necessary. Prince Faisal said Iran ‘‘doesn’t believe in talking to its neighbours’’, but instead ‘‘it tries to pressure its neighbours’’, adding that such tactics would fail, Al Jazeera reported.

‘‘The Kingdom is not going to succumb to pressure, and, on the contrary, this pressure will backfire... politically, will backfire, I believe, morally, and certainly, as we have stated clearly, we reserve the right to take military actions if necessary,’’ he said.

According to Al Jazeera, the foreign minister also said that trust in Iran has been severely damaged. ‘‘Iran’s attacks on neighbouring countries were premeditated, and what we are witnessing now confirms this,’’ he said, adding, ‘‘What little trust there was has been completely shattered.’’

He expressed hope that Tehran would reassess its actions. ‘‘I would hope that they understand the message of the meeting today, recalculate quickly and stop attacking their neighbours.’’

As per Al Jazeera, Prince Faisal further accused Iran of targeting civilian infrastructure, dismissing its justification that the strikes were linked to the presence of US military bases as ‘‘unconvincing’’. He warned that continued attacks would deepen Iran’s isolation and stressed that threats to freedom of navigation require a collective response.

He also noted that foreign ministers meeting in Riyadh agreed that Iran must immediately halt support for its proxy groups, Al Jazeera reported.

According to Al Jazeera, Saud reiterated his earlier point that his country reserves the right to respond to Iranian attacks.

Describing the attack as coercive, he said Iran’s strike on Saudi energy facilities was ‘‘a blatant attempt at blackmail’’.

As per Al Jazeera, Saudi Arabia earlier said it intercepted and destroyed four ballistic missiles launched towards Riyadh ahead of the high-level meeting.

Referring to recent developments, the Saudi minister said Iran’s actions included strikes on energy infrastructure. ‘‘For me, it was clear that the attack today was timed with this meeting, in order to attempt to intimidate those present, to send out the message that Iran will not stop,’’ he said.

‘‘All I can say is we were not intimidated. We were not in any way convinced that Iran can be a legitimate partner when it behaves this way,’’ he added.

‘‘What little trust there was has been completely shattered,’’ he further said.

Prince Faisal also confirmed that two refineries in Riyadh were attacked, warning that such actions reflect ‘‘misjudgements’’ by Iran that would not yield any gains, Al Jazeera reported. 

Source: ANI
--Agencies