RIYADH: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt called for a “rapid and comprehensive inspection” of all Iranian nuclear sites on Thursday.
Gathering on the sidelines of an Arab League session in Cairo, ministers from the four countries also discussed stopping Tehran’s destabilizing policies that threaten global security and stability.
The meeting on Thursday, chaired by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, also discussed strengthening joint coordination to stop Iranian interference in the region and its financing of the Houthi militia in Yemen and other terrorist groups.
The UN atomic watchdog on Tuesday criticized Iran for obstructing an investigation into past activities and jeopardizing important monitoring work.
The International Atomic Energy Agency said in reports to member states that there had been no progress on two key issues: explaining uranium traces found at several old, undeclared sites and getting urgent access to some monitoring equipment so that the agency can continue to keep track of parts of Iran's nuclear programme.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken responded with a warning on Wednesday that time was running out for Iran to return to the 2015 nuclear deal that the Biden administration wants to revive.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suggested after taking office in August that talks aimed at reviving the stalled deal were unlikely to resume for two to three months.
Former President Donald Trump pulled Washington out of the 2015 deal, under which Iran agreed to restrictions on its nuclear activities in return for the lifting of sanctions. Tehran responded to the US withdrawal and reimposition of sanctions by violating many of those restrictions.
Prince Faisal also met his Jordanian and Palestinian counterparts separately on the sidelines of the session.
The Kingdom’s foreign minister discussed ways of strengthening relations and recent developments during the meetings.
