Al-Jubeir’s thunderbolt response silences Iran

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir. (Reuters)

BRUSSELS: Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir gave a fitting reply to the consul general of Iran during a lecture at Egmont Research Center of the Foreign Ministry of Belgium in Brussels, after the consul alleged the Kingdom supported terrorism.

Al-Arabiya broadcast a part of the speech of the Iranian consul general, in which he said: “I believe that saying that Al-Qaeda has any relationship with Iran is a joke. Nobody has forgotten that Bin Laden was a Saudi national and he had strong political and economic relations with the Kingdom. They have also not forgotten that from among 19 people who participated in 9/11 attacks, 15 were Saudi nationals. People sitting in this hall also know which countries who have supported Daesh for several years are.”
Responding to this allegation, Al-Jubeir said: “I did not say anything which is not backed by facts. Doesn’t the Iranian constitution talk about exporting revolution? Doesn’t the Iranian constitution talk about taking care of deprived Shias? Didn’t Iran establish Hezbollah? Didn’t Iran attack more than 12 embassies inside Iran violating all international laws? We never attacked them. Iran did. Didn’t Iran engineer, plan and implement attacks on residences of the American forces in Alkhobar in 1996? Yes, they did.
The officer in charge of this operation was your military attaché in Bahrain. The person who made the bomb was from Hezbollah of Lebanon. The explosives came from Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley. The three main leaders of the operation ran away and has been living in Iran since then.”
Al-Jubeir continued: “When there were explosions in Riyadh in 2003, Saif Al-Adel was in Iran with Saad Bin Laden, Al-Qaed’s propaganda official, as well as another four or five commanders. We asked Iran to hand them over. But they refused our demand. Some of them are still in Iran.”
“The order for bombing the residential complexes of Riyadh in 2003 was given by Saif Al-Adel, commander of Al-Qaeda’s operations. He was then staying in Iran. We have recordings of telephone conversation. We did not create this information. Ronald Regan used to say: The facts are stubborn. They are actually stubborn because it is not possible to get around facts. Hezbollah is a terrorist organization. It is clear that it has attacked embassies. The embassies do not explode themselves. There must be somebody behind it. Diplomats do not kill themselves by firing bullets on themselves three times. There is a person responsible for this,” he added.
Al-Jubeir added: “Iranian agents have links with terrorist attacks in Europe and South America. We did not create these facts. This is the world and this is the proof. We wish that Iran would become a great neighbor. But this depends on both sides. If you want the world to deal with you, then there is a requirement of giving up hostile expansionist policies and return to international norms and practices.”
Addressing the Iranian consul directly, the foreign minister said: “If you don’t want Saudi officials criticizing Iran, then do not behave in a way which attracts criticism. So far your history is full of death and destruction, noncompliance with international law and the principles which have existed since the emergence of the United Nations, particularly those related to good neighborly relations and noninterference in the affairs of others.”