The chief of the army of Pakistan is warning that if Iran threatens Saudi Arabia his country will strike back.
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Jubeir said some countries had offered to mediate but that required Iran to be serious about the efforts.
Also Monday, in a meeting with former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani, called on the Saudi leadership to stop creating instability in the region by encouraging hostility toward Iran by other Islamic countries. “Most members of al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Islamic State and Nusra Front are Saudi citizens or have been brainwashed by demagogues wielding oil money”, Zarif said in his letter on Saturday.
Salman earlier arrived in Islamabad, making him the second top Saudi official to visit Pakistan in a week amid growing tension with Iran over Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr’s recent execution. The final agreement reached a year ago has marked a new era of cooperation between Washington and Tehran, though the Saudis fear it will draw Tehran closer to the U.S.at the expense of Riyadh, a longtime American ally.
“The president and I have indicated publicly and privately our readiness to engage in dialogue, promote stability and combat destabilizing extremism”, he wrote.
Riyadh, which is leading an Arab military intervention against Iran-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen, denied the accusation, saying no operations were carried out near the mission.
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran on January 3 following demonstrations held in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad by angry protesters censuring the Al Saud family for the killing of Nimr. “We need unity to confront the threats posed by extremists”. “If Iran wants to play a positive role in the region then it must deal with its neighbors based on the principle of good neighborliness”.
Al Arabiya quoted Jubeir who was speaking on the embassy attacks among Arab states meeting.
Adviser to the Prime Minister on Foreign Affairs, Sartaj Aziz, said on Tuesday that Pakistan would not provide ground troops to Saudi Arabia.
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He also said Iran showed restraint after events such as last year’s hajj in Saudi Arabia, where 464 Iranians were among more than 2,000 pilgrims killed in a stampede, and had not cut or reduced its diplomatic relations with the kingdom. “But if they continue to support sectarian aggression, terror and violence, they will face the rejection of the Arab countries”, he warned. “We hope that reason will prevail”.
