A handout picture provided by the Saudi Royal Palace on Thursday, shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attending a video meeting with the Shura council in the capital Riyadh. (AFP/Bandar Al Jaloud/Saudi Royal Palace)
THE JAKARTA POST | Published November 12, 2024
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told a summit of Arab and Muslim leaders that the international community should oblige Israel “to respect the sovereignty of the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran and not to violate its lands”.
Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler on Monday called on Israel to respect Iran’s sovereignty and refrain from attacking Iranian soil, highlighting warming ties between the Middle East rivals.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told a summit of Arab and Muslim leaders that the international community should oblige Israel “to respect the sovereignty of the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran and not to violate its lands”.
Sunni Muslim-majority Saudi Arabia and Shiite-majority Iran have often found themselves on opposing sides of regional conflicts including Syria’s.
In 2015 Saudi Arabia mobilised a military coalition to support Yemen’s internationally recognised government after Iran-backed Huthi rebels seized the capital Sanaa and advanced toward the main southern city of Aden.
The following year Riyadh and Tehran severed ties following attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran during protests over Riyadh’s execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
In March 2023, however, they announced a rapprochement deal brokered by China.
Though issues remain in the complex relationship, the rapprochement amounts to a signature diplomatic achievement for Prince Mohammed, who has taken a more conciliatory approach to regional diplomacy in recent years.
Saudi Arabia and Iran have maintained high-level contact as part of efforts to contain the war that broke out in Gaza following Hamas’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7 last year.
Mohammed told the summit that the international community should oblige Israel “to respect the sovereignty of the sisterly Islamic Republic of Iran and not to violate its lands.”
Speaking days after Americans voted to send former president Donald Trump back to the White House, Mohammed also appeared to harden the kingdom’s rhetoric against Israel, signaling that Riyadh may be moving further away from US efforts to broker a normalization deal with Jerusalem.
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SOURCE: www.jakartapost.com
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A handout picture provided by the Saudi Press Agency SPA on November 11, 2024, shows Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman addressing the joint extraordinary leaders summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League in Riyadh. (Photo by Ahmed NURELDINE / SPA / AFP)
THE TIMES OF ISRAEL | Published November 12, 2024
Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler on Monday called on Israel to respect Iran’s sovereignty and refrain from attacking Iranian soil, while appearing to step up criticism of Jerusalem, accusing it of genocide.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made the comments at a summit of Arab and Muslim leaders organized to press for the establishment of a Palestinian state, a year after the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation held a first conference on the subject.
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