Kingdom supports Trump's position on Iran

Saudi Foreign Minister, Adel Al Jubeir, has re-affirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia fully supports the position of US President Donald Trump on Iran, saying that the nuclear agreement contains several shortcomings.

Al Jubeir made the comments during his participation in a panel discussion organised by the British Royal Institute for International Affairs, Chatham House, on future turbulences in the world, on Tuesday, the Saudi Press Agency, SPA, reported.

In his speech, the Saudi Minister said that Tehran's policy of supporting terrorism is "not acceptable at all, and its consequences will be dire." New sanctions would be welcome, he said, stressing that the international community must support these sanctions in order to send a strong message to Iran that its conduct and its shameful activities have consequences.

Regarding Iraq, the Saudi Foreign Minister said that relations between the Kingdom and Iraq are historic, and that the two countries have social, economic and geographical ties. He said that the establishment of a Saudi-Iraqi Coordination Council will contribute to enhancing bilateral relations and supporting the security and stability of Iraq and the region.

He added that the interest of the Kingdom in Iraq is a reflection of its desire to restore Iraq's advancement away from ethnic and sectarian conflicts, for a unified, stable and secure Iraq, contrary to what Iran seeks as an extension of its expansion plans.

Asked about the latest developments in the Qatar crisis and the lack of commitment of Doha to implement the demands of countries calling for the fight against terrorism, Al Jubeir said the matter is up to Qatar. "We reject terrorism and extremism and harbouring the wanted. We refuse to publish discourses of incitement and hatred and interfere in the affairs of other countries. We do not accept that suicide bombings are justified in the media by extremist religious figures hosted by Qatar," he said.

He added, "The boycott of Qatar resulted in the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the United States to combat the financing of terrorism, and the Qatari authorities allowing officials of the US Treasury Department to work within Qatari banks, in addition to Qatar's amendments to regulations on combating terrorism." SPA pointed out that these steps had been rejected by the Qatari authorities before the boycott.