Saudi FM refuses to comment on Saudi-Israel cooperation

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir yesterday refused to confirm or deny reports that Saudi Arabia is cooperating with Israel to combat Hezbollah.

“I cannot comment on rumours,” the minister said during an interview with CNBC which was published yesterday.

“Hezbollah has hijacked the regime in Lebanon and spreads a malign influence throughout the Middle East,” Al-Jubair said, adding that many countries want to push back against Hezbollah.

“What I do know is that Iran is an outlaw state and Iran is the number one state sponsor of terrorism, that Iran harbors terrorists and was in cahoots with Al-Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden since the 1990s,” he said, claiming that “Al-Qaeda’s virtual board of directors fled to Iran in 2002 and have been directing terror operations from the country ever since.”

“The Iranians have to decide whether they are a revolution or a nation, so they have decided so far that they are a revolution and that they want to expand, and this is unacceptable,” Al-Jubeir said.

Saudi Arabia and Iran have been battling for influence in the Middle East in Yemen, Syria and Iraq.

Read: ‘Saudi Arabia’s relation with Israel not based on politics’