Arab League Secretary General's Protest Against Iranian and Turkish Interventions in Arab Countries

According to Al Arabiya, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the Secretary General of the Arab League, stated at the union's meeting on Sunday that "Turkey and Iran's interventions" in the region have led to "longer and more complicated crises" in Arab countries. The Secretary General's remarks come as the Arab League has recently expressed concerns about Iranian interventions in the region, and this time, Turkey's name has also been mentioned alongside Iran. Meanwhile, reports indicate that the Emir of Qatar left the Arab League meeting in protest of the Secretary General's comments about Turkey and returned to his country. When several Arab countries, led by Saudi Arabia, severed ties with Qatar, Ankara immediately declared its support for Doha; Tehran, which was once critical of Ankara and Doha's policies in West Asia, especially during the Syrian war, also supported Qatar. King Salman of Saudi Arabia deemed "Iran's interventions" as a cause of instability in the region and called for a confrontation with "the aggressive policies of the Iranian regime," accusations that Iran denies. Additionally, Ibrahim al-Assaf, the Saudi Foreign Minister, on Friday, April 9, labeled Iran's "intervention" in Arab countries as the most significant "threat" to the Arab world and called for coordinated action in this regard. The annual summit of Arab League leaders was held on Sunday in Tunisia, attended by representatives from 22 member countries except Syria. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the President of Algeria, and Omar al-Bashir, the President of Sudan, were absent from the meeting, facing widespread protests in their countries. The Associated Press reports that a resolution condemning the recent U.S. decision regarding the Golan Heights is expected to be issued at the end of the Arab League summit. Meanwhile, King Salman stated at the beginning of the summit, "Riyadh completely rejects any action that would violate Syria's sovereignty over the Golan Heights." Antonio Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, and Federica Mogherini, the EU's foreign policy coordinator, also emphasized Syria's ownership of this region during the Arab League meeting. Arab countries consider the Golan Heights, which were captured by Israel in the 1967 war, as occupied Syrian territory and condemned Donald Trump's decision to recognize this area as part of Israel's territory. Last year, the Trump administration also sparked outrage among Arab countries by moving the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.