WASHINGTON: Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister reiterated on Thursday that the crisis in Yemen can only be solved through a political process.
Speaking at the Brookings Institution in Washington, Adel Al-Jubeir said the war in Yemen was imposed on Saudi Arabia and is not a war of choice, adding that Saudi Arabia has been dealing with Iranian meddling in the region since the 1979 revolution.
“Iran is the problem in the region, it is the source terror and extremism.”
Al-Jubeir said the Kingdom is cooperating with the US to contain Iran, who are the backers of the Houthis in Yemen, insisting that Tehran must be held accountable for supplying ballistic missiles to the militias there.
“Houthi militia in Yemen are connected to Iran, they have staged a coup against the internationally recognized government and the peace process supported by the UN”
Al-Jubeir said that Iran's nuclear deal with the west needs to be reviewed, specially the inspection mechanism. 'The deal doesn’t solve all of the problems with Tehran", warned Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat.
“Tehran has supplied ballistic missiles to the Houthi militia, this is not a responsible act” said Al-Jubeir as he answered questions after his keynote address at the institute.
Al-Jubeir also blamed Iran for the failure to end the war in Syria, he said that “shia militia and Iran’s influence obstruct the political settlement in Syria.”
The Saudi Foreign Minister added that “the tragedies in Syria affected millions of Syrians” and the only way out to end the suffering is through a political transition.
Al-Jubeir reiterated his country’s commitment to finding a peaceful settlement between the Palestinians and the Israelis according to the Arab Peace Initiative of 2002. He also reiterated his country’s commitment to reform and gave examples that illustrate the will of the kingdom to be more transparent and work to improve human rights and women rights.
In terms of investment, Al-Jubeir elaborated the importance of the economic cooperation between the two allies and he explained that "Saudi Arabia has close to $800 billion invested in the US" and that “We intend to take our economic relationship with the US to a higher level.” Al-Jubeir said