Saudi and UAE policies are full of mistakes, claims Iranian official

The Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, has criticised the policies of countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE, saying that they are full of strategic and tactical mistakes, Quds Press has reported. Such mistakes, he said, are not limited to Yemen, but also include their policies on Qatar.

In a statement published by the Tasnim News Agency, which is close to the Iranian government, Shamkhani pointed out that the people of Yemen are under a severe siege imposed by some countries, where even humanitarian aid and food cannot be delivered.

The Iranian official described as “foolish” the accusations that his country is delivering missiles to Yemen, adding:

We believe that the release of such false allegations by the Saudis aims at evading their own accountability to the world, especially the Islamic countries, for three years of criminality, ethnic cleansing and killing of children, as well as the continuous bombardment with banned weapons and attacks on markets and weddings.

Read: Iran’s leader accuses Saudis of ‘treason’ against Muslims

In response to anti-Iranian statements made by UAE officials, Shamkhani noted that, “Some Arab countries regard the UAE as a small country with a weak and vulnerable government which tries to show off by monitoring high funds and providing royalties to others.” He pointed out that countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE supported Saddam during his war against Iran.

“It was Saddam who invaded Kuwait and the Arab countries suffered great losses,” he continued. “However, Iran supported Kuwait during the Saddam invasion because it believes that any military aggression is illegal.”

Shamkhani blamed the wealth, political ignorance, inexperience and the rule of youth of these countries for the splits and waste of wealth. “They have turned the Palestinian issue into a secondary issue, in addition to supporting terrorist and aggressive practices against a neighbouring country and turning the Islamic world’s concern from the Palestinian cause to other issues. This is a clear betrayal that history and Arab nations will not forgive.”

Saudi-Iran relations are strained over a number of issues, most notably the Iranian nuclear programme that Riyadh sees as a threat to the security of the region. The situations in Yemen and Syria are also a bone of contention. Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of supporting Bashar Al-Assad’s regime in Syria and the alliance of Al-Houthi militants and the late former President Ali Abdullah Saleh in Yemen. The governments in Riyadh and Tehran also clash over involvement in Lebanon and Iraq.

Read: Iran accuses Washington and Riyadh of backing Daesh