Saudi king denounces ‘blatant interference’ by Iran in Arab affairs

DHAHRAN: Saudi Arabia’s King Salman slammed Iran’s “blatant interference” in regional affairs as Arab leaders met in the kingdom on Sunday for an annual summit.

In his opening speech at the Arab League summit, Salman also criticised the US decision to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem but avoided any mention of Syria, just 24 hours after Western strikes against President Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

The meeting comes after a barrage of strikes launched by the United States, Britain and France hit targets they said were linked to chemical weapons development in Syria, which was suspended from the league seven years ago.

But in his opening address Salman focused instead on rivalries with longtime foe Iran — only 160 kilometres (100 miles) across the Gulf from Dharan.

“We renew our strong condemnation of Iran’s terrorist acts in the Arab region and reject its blatant interference in the affairs of Arab countries,” the king said.

And despite being a stalwart ally of the United States, he also criticised US President Donald Trump controversial decision to transfer America’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“We reiterate our rejection of the US decision on Jerusalem,” said the king, adding that “East Jerusalem is an integral part of the Palestinian territories”.

Saudi King Salman opened the Arab League summit by criticising US President Donald Trump’s decision to transfer the US embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“We reiterate our rejection of the US decision on Jerusalem,” the king said during the speech in Dhahran in eastern Saudi Arabia.

“East Jerusalem is an integral part of the Palestinian territories,” he added.

Qatar, which has confirmed it will attend the summit, also backed the strikes.

Its foreign ministry tweeted support for “operations against specific military targets used by the Syrian regime in its chemical attacks”.

Gulf Arab states have made massive donations to Syria but have not officially offered asylum to Syrians.

Despite widespread Arab condemnation of the suspected chemical attack, the Dhahran summit is unlikely to call for Assad to step down.

Seven years into a war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives, Saudi Arabia and Iran now agree that the country’s future cannot be decided solely by the Assad regime, whose troops have regained the upper hand with massive support from Russia.

Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 32-year-old son of the king and de facto ruler of the world’s largest exporter of oil, has said Assad will stay.

The question of Jerusalem is also likely to figure prominently at the summit as the United States prepares to move its embassy there from Tel Aviv after declaring the disputed city the capital of Israel in a break with decades of international diplomacy.

Arab ministers at a preliminary meeting in Riyadh on Thursday focused heavily on blocking the move, unanimously condemning the decision by US President Donald Trump.

But Saudi Arabia’s crown prince struck a somewhat different tone during a US tour earlier this month.

While Saudi Arabia does not officially recognise Israel, Prince Mohammed told US magazine The Atlantic that Israelis, like Palestinians, had a right to their own land.

“There are a lot of interests we share with Israel and if there is peace, there would be a lot of interest between Israel and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries”, he said.