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Leader’s Aide: S. Arabia Too Little to Harm Iran’s Regional Allies Directly

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Iranian Supreme Leader’s top Adviser for International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati lashed out at Saudi Foreign Minister Adil al-Ahmad al-Jubayr for his unwise remarks against Tehran, and said Saudi Arabia is too weak to inflict any damage on Iran’s allies in the region directly.

“The remarks by the naive Saudi foreign minister finds no ears on the international scene since everyone knows that his comments don’t have any wise and fair basis,” Velayati told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with Head of Russian Drug Control Organization Victor Ivanov in Tehran on Tuesday.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran as the biggest regional power enters the scene and takes action wherever it feels that a neighboring country or one of its allies has been endangered or is posed to plots,” he added.

“Of course, Saudi Arabia is too little to implement such plots directly but it is supporting the terrorists in the Muslim regional states in the role of a proxy of the West, including the US,” Velayati underlined.

He said that Iran’s military presence in Syria to provide the country’s army with counseling services took place at the request of Damascus to help the Syrians with the fight against the terrorists, but Saudi Arabia is supporting the terrorist groups.

In relevant remarks earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham stressed that the Saudi foreign minster’s incorrect and undiplomatic approaches towards the regional developments would end in nothing but deterioration of the current crises in the Middle East.

“Saudi Foreign Minister Adil al-Ahmad al-Jubayr, whose country has taken a military, security, and excessive approach against Yemenis and for more than seven months has targeted the country’s civilians by constant bombardments, lacks the competency to speak about Iran’s regional role,” Afkham said in a statement in reaction to the Saudi foreign minister’s rhetoric remarks against Tehran during a joint press conference with visiting German Foreign Minister Frank Walter-Steinmeier.

“While the global community is appreciating Iran’s constructive and stabilizing role in the region and has called for Iran’s further participation and role in settlement of regional crises, unfortunately, the only country that is still looking at the regional developments with the win-lose approach and is insisting on removal of others is the Saudi Arabia,” she further added.

“But its non-constructive and destructive approach does not lead to anywhere,” Afkham underlined.

It was hoped, she added, that following successful nuclear negotiations and global appreciation of the constructive and comprehensive way of dialog for peaceful settlement of regional problems, certain illogical and monopolistic behavior on the part of Iran’s Southern neighbor (Saudi Arabia) would be put aside.

“Using such arrogant, despicable, and out of diplomatic norms about the fate of other nations is an indication of diplomatic stagnation,” the Iranian diplomat said in reaction to the Saudi official’s remarks over fate of Syria.

“Unfortunately, the same outlook has resulted in the entanglement of some countries and peoples of the region including Syria and Yemen in a pre-designed war and extremism,” she said.

Also this month, Afkham blasted Jubayr’s allegations against Iran, and said the Riyadh government was not entitled to accuse other states of pursuing an interfering foreign policy, given its own black record of meddling in other countries’ affairs.

“A country (Saudi Arabia) that has been striking the people and infrastructures of the Muslim country of Yemen for about 7 months from air and ground and has killed thousands of civilians, including women and children, is not in a position to speak bout the interference of another country, and such a country should make its statements based on the facts,” Afkham said.

The Iranian foreign ministry spokeswoman said that Iran has acted responsibly towards the regional developments and crises, including Syria, Yemen and Bahrain, and it has always regarded political solution as the best option for resolving the problems.

“Saudi Arabia has opted for militarism which does not have any outcome other than massacre of the innocent people, and we hope that it would immediately change this approach in a bid to stop the killing of the innocent people and, rather, support political solutions to achieve stability and tranquility in the region,” Afkham said.

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