News Agencies
RIYADH — Saudi Arabia said Monday that Iran’s actions toward the Kingdom and Gulf states do not reflect wisdom or the interest of avoiding a wider escalation in which Tehran would be the biggest loser.In a statement, the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Iran’s continued attacks signal further escalation and could have significant repercussions for relations now and in the future.
The Kingdom said remarks by the Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian claiming Iran had no plans to attack neighboring countries had not been reflected in reality.
“The Kingdom affirms that the Iranian side has not implemented that declaration on the ground, either during the president’s speech or afterward, and has continued its attacks based on baseless justifications that have no basis in fact,” the statement said.Saudi Arabia also rejected claims that fighter jets and aerial refueling aircraft launched from the Kingdom were participating in the war.Riyadh said those aircraft are conducting defensive patrols to monitor and protect the airspace of Saudi Arabia and Gulf Cooperation Council countries from Iranian missiles and drones.
The ministry stressed that targeting civilian sites, airports and oil facilities demonstrates an insistence on threatening security and stability and constitutes a clear violation of international conventions and international law.Saudi Arabia renewed its firm condemnation of the Iranian attacks targeting the Kingdom, GCC states and several Arab, Islamic and friendly countries.
Meanwhile, Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit called on Iran to review its policies and correct the strategic error is committed by attacking Arab countries.In his address delivered via videoconference during the extraordinary ministerial meeting of the Arab League Council, he said the attacks are condemned and rejected by Arab governments and peoples alike.
“These attacks disregard the principles of good neighborliness and blatantly violate international laws and charters by targeting civilians, facilities, and civilian objects, posing a threat to Arab national security,” he said.
Aboul Gheit said that Arab countries are not parties to the ongoing war and did not wish for its outbreak. They had previously declared their rejection of using their territories and airspace as launching points for military operations to spare the region—including Iran—the consequences of war.He called on Iran to immediately and effectively halt these attacks. He also urged the international community, represented by the United Nations Security Council, to take all possible measures to stop Iranian attacks on Arab territories.
In a press statement, Aboul Gheit strongly condemned the dangerous Iranian escalation targeting civilian areas and vital facilities in the Gulf region. “This reckless and unjustified escalation represents a grave miscalculation that Iran must immediately reconsider,” he said.Aboul Gheit reiterated that Iran is committing aggression against peoples by targeting civilians and vital facilities, placing the entire region on an extremely dangerous path through its uncalculated escalation.The Arab League chief said that he is closely monitoring developments in the Iranian escalation, considering it a desperate strategy against countries that did not participate in the war and did not seek it, noting that such a strategy will only deepen hatred and hostility in the region.
