Timur Azari
RIYADH, March 15 (Reuters) – Tehran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia told Reuters on Sunday that Iran’s relations with Arab Gulf states need to be “carefully reviewed” in light of the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran to limit the power of external actors so that the region can prosper.
Asked if he feared relations would be damaged by the war, Ambassador Alireza Enayati said: “It’s a valid question and the answer may be simple. We are neighbors and we can’t live without each other; we need to look at it carefully.”
“What the region has witnessed over the past five years is the result of an exclusionary approach [within the region] and over-reliance on external forces,” he said in a written reply, calling for deeper ties among the six Gulf Cooperation Council members, as well as Iraq and Iran.
Gulf Arab states have faced more than 2,000 missile and drone attacks since the war broke out on February 28, targeting US diplomatic missions and military bases but also critical Gulf oil infrastructure, ports, airports, hotels and residential and office buildings.
The United Arab Emirates, which normalized relations with Iran’s arch-enemy Israel in 2020, has borne the brunt of these attacks. But all Gulf Arab states have been affected and have condemned Iran.
Behind the scenes, there is also growing frustration with the United States, their long-time guarantor of security, for dragging them into a war they do not support but are paying a high price for, analysts and regional sources said.
In Saudi Arabia, attacks have focused on the eastern region where most of the country’s oil is produced, as well as the Prince Sultan Air Base east of Riyadh where U.S. troops are stationed, and the diplomatic zone on the western edge of the Saudi capital, according to a statement from the Saudi Defense Ministry.
Saudi Arabia and Iran re-established full diplomatic ties in 2023 after years of hostility, with the two countries supporting rival political and military factions in the region.
Iran ‘not responsible’ for attacks on Saudi oil industry
Enayati has denied Iranian responsibility for attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, including the Ras Tanura refinery on the east coast, as well as dozens of attempted drone attacks on the Shaiba oil fields in the desert near the UAE border.
“Iran is not responsible for these attacks and if Iran had carried out these attacks it would have announced that,” he said. He did not say who carried out the attack.
The Saudi Defense Ministry’s statement did not attribute specific incidents to anyone. Enayati said that Iran only attacks the goals and interests of the United States and Israel.
Enayati said he was personally in contact with Saudi officials and that relations between the two countries were “progressing naturally” in many areas. He highlighted Saudi cooperation in allowing Iranians to leave the kingdom for religious pilgrimages and in providing medical aid to others.
Tehran was engaging with Riyadh over Saudi Arabia’s publicly stated position that its land, sea and air would not be used to attack Iran, he said, without elaborating on the discussions.
His message to the Gulf states was that war “has been imposed on us and on the region.”
He said that in order to resolve the conflict, the United States and Israel must stop attacks, regional countries should not get involved, and international guarantees must be obtained to prevent the recurrence of conflicts.
“Only in this way can we focus on building a prosperous region,” he said.
(Reporting by Timor Azari in Riyadh; Editing by Gareth Jones)
