Saudi Foreign Minister: We Welcome Trump’s Policies Toward Iran and ISIS

Adel Al-Jubeir, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, said on Monday that Riyadh welcomes the approach of the Donald Trump administration to revive America’s role in the world and particularly to contain Iran and defeat the Islamic State group, ISIS.

According to Reuters, Adel Al-Jubeir, speaking with journalists in Paris, stated, “We are optimistic about the future U.S. administration and we look forward to cooperating with them in all areas where we have shared concerns.”

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister added: “From our perspective, Trump administration policies are coherent and clear. It wants to revive America’s role in the world, we welcome this approach. It wants to defeat ISIS (the Islamic State group), completely. It wants to contain Iran, …. completely (we welcome this).”

Donald Trump, the president-elect of the United States, will be formally sworn in on Friday.

According to the report, Adel Al-Jubeir said that Saudi Arabia and the United States have shared geopolitical interests in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Iran. He added that the two countries also have common interests in the financial and energy sectors.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister emphasized: “The goals that we want to achieve are common goals. Perhaps we may have potential differences on how to achieve these goals with each other, but we do not disagree with each other on what should or should not be done.”

Adel Al-Jubeir, in response to a question about relations between Riyadh and Tehran, accused Iran of destabilizing the region.

Iranian-Saudi relations became tense following the outbreak of protests in Arab countries, or the “Arab Spring.” With the beginning of protests and clashes in Syria in 2011, Iran supported the Bashar al-Assad government, while Saudi Arabia supported the opponents of the Syrian government.

Following the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabian embassies and consulates in Tehran and Mashhad were attacked. Saudi Arabia responded by severing diplomatic relations with Iran. Subsequently, Iran also halted the hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister went on to say: “Our relations with Iran are strained, and this is a result of Iran’s hostile and aggressive policies.”

Adel Al-Jubeir added: “We cannot allow ourselves to be condemned to death and destruction, and then expect that we turn our faces away (and ignore it). We (made efforts) to improve relations but it was not fruitful.”

He also said regarding the Syria peace talks in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, that these talks are worth trying, but the moderate opposition currents to the Syrian government should not be excluded from these talks.

Adel Al-Jubeir said: “The goal of these talks is to establish a ceasefire and begin a political negotiation process. Let’s try it. Of course, it has not been successful so far.”

The Astana talks are scheduled to take place shortly after the new U.S. administration is formed under the leadership of Donald Trump.

Source: Radio Farda