Ayatollah Rafsanjani cancels Saudi visit

Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who now chairs the state Expediency Council, has called off his visit to Saudi Arabia, his senior aide announced on Sunday.

‘Rafsanjani’s visit to Riyadh has been cancelled,’ Qodratollah Alikhani, the EC chairman’s senior advisor, told FNA in Tehran on Sunday.

He further said Rafsanjani condemned the Saudi aggression against Yemen during his meeting with senior Iranian officials on Saturday, and called off his visit to Riyadh in protest at the Saudi aggression against Yemen.

Rafsanjani, who is known to have had very good relations with senior Saudi officials when he was in power as Iran’s president, on Saturday voiced deep concern over the ongoing crisis in Yemen, and said the Saudi attack on Yemen means playing with fire.

‘Unfortunately, some Arab countries on lame excuses and with aimless bombardments in Yemen have committed a clear and dangerous mistake and, in fact, they have started playing with fire,’ Rafsanjani said, addressing a group of Iranian officials in Tehran.

He blasted the few Arab countries that have formed an anti-Yemen coalition led by Saudi Arabia, saying, ‘They have not taken the slightest effective action against the Quds occupying regime for over 50 years, but have become united against a regional Muslim state which is quite regrettable.’

On Saturday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian warned Saudi Arabia against the dire consequences of Yemen invasion, describing the move as ‘a strategic mistake’.

‘The Saudi military attack on Yemen is a strategic mistake,’ Amir Abdollahian said.

The Iranian deputy foreign minister also cautioned that the Saudi attack on Yemen’s infrastructures and people is unacceptable.

Amir Abdollahian also cautioned that the Saudi aggression has negative consequences for the region and the Muslim World, and said, ‘Riyadh should not forget that Saudi Arabia’s military presence in Bahrain has created a more complicated situation for the Bahraini people.’

‘Riyadh should not count on US support for its military invasion of Yemen,’ he added.