Iranian Presidency Office via AP
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has called on Saudi Arabia to cease its hostile policies against Tehran and warned against putting trust in the US and Israel.
Speaking at his cabinet meeting on November 8, Rouhani reaffirmed Iran’s support for the stability in the region: “Our path in the region is to establish and promote stability; we want the geographic borders not to change, nations to decide for themselves, and bombardments and aggression against regional nations to be stopped.”
He addressed Saudi leaders with the following statement: “You are mistaken if you think Iran is not your friend, but the US and Israel are. This mentality is a strategic mistake and miscalculation.”
“You are well aware of the power and status of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Those more powerful than you have failed to do anything against the Iranian nation,” Rouhani added.
His comments came after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman accused Iran of delivering missiles to Yemeni rebels for use against the kingdom that he described as “direct military aggression”, with the latest missile being shut down near Riyadh on November 4.
Iran strongly denied supplying any missiles to the rebels saying that it would have been impossible to do so in any case in the face of a Saudi-led air and sea blockade.
The United States accused Iran on November 7 of supplying Yemen’s Houthi rebels with a missile that was fired into Saudi Arabia in July. US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said that by providing weapons to the Houthi rebels, Iran had violated two UN resolutions on Yemen and Iran. She said a missile shot down over Saudi Arabia on November 4 “may also be of Iranian origin.”
