S. Arabia to work with US allies to confront Iran’s aggressive policies

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia on Friday welcomed US President Donald Trump’s firm strategy on Iran after he refused to certify the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal.
“The Kingdom vows full support to the decisive strategy announced by US President Donald Trump to address Iran and its malicious behavior,” the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported quoting an official statement. The statement commended Trump’s clear vision and his commitment to working with the US allies in the region to confront common threats, especially those posed by Iran’s aggressive policies and behavior.
The Kingdom had previously announced its support for the agreement between Iran and the P5+1 based on its belief for the need to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and its commitment to achieving peace and stability in the region. However, Iran had misused the economic benefits it gained from the lifting of sanctions and used them to continue its destabilizing behavior in the region, especially through its development of ballistic missiles and its support for terrorism in the region, including the activities of Hezbollah and Houthi militias, the statement said.
Iran went beyond that in blatant violation of international resolutions, as it transferred its capabilities and expertise to its proxies, including the Houthi militias, who used these missiles to target the Kingdom, it added. “This proved the fallacy of Iran’s claims that its development of missile capabilities was for defensive purposes. Iran, through the Revolutionary Guard and the Houthi militias under its control, continued its attempts to restrict international maritime navigation in the Red Sea and the Arabian Gulf, and continued its cyber-attacks against the Kingdom and other countries of the region,” the statement said.
“Based on this, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reaffirms its full commitment to continue to work with its partners in the United States and the international community to achieve the objectives of the strategy announced by the US president, and the need to address the dangers posed by Iran’s policies to international peace and security in a comprehensive approach that is not limited to its nuclear program, but includes all of its malicious activities and cuts off all paths for Iran to obtain weapons of mass destruction,” the statement said.
HA/IINA