Iran's Supreme Leader: Saudis will fall

Iran’s hardline Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Saturday Saudi Arabia’s rulers faced “certain downfall” for aligning themselves with the United States, hours after the country’s pragmatist president called for improved ties with Gulf states.

According to his Twitter account, Khamenei told a religious gathering:

They (Saudi leaders) act cordially towards the enemies of Islam while having the opposite behaviour towards the Muslim people of Bahrain and Yemen,…They will face certain downfall

Iran and the Gulf Arab states are backing opposing sides in the wars in Syria and Yemen, and the unrest in Bahrain. Relations were further hit last weekend when US President Donald Trump visited Saudi Arabia and accused Tehran of supporting terrorism in the Middle East.

Iran denies such accusations and says Saudi Arabia, its arch-foe, is the real source of funding for extremist militants.

Meanwhile President Hassan Rouhani, a pragmatist who has significantly less power than the supreme leader, earlier called for improved relations with Gulf Arab states during a telephone call with the emir of Qatar, which has come under fire from its Gulf neighbours over its relationship with Tehran.