Iran's Foreign Ministry: Saudi Arabia is Suffering from 'Delusion and Mistake'

Bahram Qasemi, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, stated that Saudi Arabia is suffering from 'delusion' and 'mistake', and these errors have previously led the country into difficulties. According to ISNA news agency, Qasemi made these accusations on Monday, February 14, in response to recent positions of Saudi and UAE officials regarding Iran. Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi Foreign Minister, referred to Iran as a 'threat' to the region during a meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday, February 13. Major General Ahmed Asiri, senior advisor to the Saudi Minister of Defense, also stated last week that Iran should, according to him, be pushed back to its borders. Additionally, the UAE news agency 'WAM' reported on February 3 that Abdul Rahim Al-Awadhi, the UAE Deputy Foreign Minister, summoned the Iranian chargé d'affaires in Abu Dhabi and delivered a note of protest regarding the Islamic Republic's 'illegal arming of the Ansar Allah movement'. The UAE Deputy Foreign Minister also accused Iran of 'violating' the binding resolutions of the UN Security Council regarding the prohibition of such actions and 'aggressing' against Yemen's sovereignty, stating that these actions 'will exacerbate the conflict in the country'. He emphasized that 'the delivery of drones by the Islamic Republic' to the Houthi Shiites, one of which was recently targeted by Arab coalition forces, violates UN Security Council Resolution 2216. The UAE is part of the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia that is fighting against the Houthi Shiites in Yemen. Qasemi described the recent positions of Saudi Arabia and the UAE regarding Iran as 'based on ignorance and insufficient knowledge of the regional situation and the Islamic Republic', adding that these two countries have 'hardened their positions towards Iran or adopted another policy' since Donald Trump's presidency in the United States. The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson advised the officials of these two countries not to 'fall into a historical error' and that 'it would be better to adjust their policies according to the realities of the region'. Donald Trump, the President of the United States, and King Salman of Saudi Arabia recently discussed the 'importance of very precise implementation' of the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers, emphasizing the need to pay attention to 'Iran's destabilizing actions in the region'. Regarding the improvement of relations between Tehran and Riyadh, Qasemi stated: 'We can talk and work with Saudi Arabia when we feel that Saudi Arabia also needs this relationship and wants to compensate for some of its past mistakes and errors'. However, he noted that 'Saudi Arabia today is trying to act against Iran at a high cost and create enemies for Iran'. These statements from the Iranian diplomatic official came at a time when Saudi officials have repeatedly rejected such accusations and accused Tehran of interfering in their internal affairs, which Iran denies. Iran supports the government of Bashar al-Assad in Syria, while Saudi Arabia is one of the main supporters of a group of rebels in that country. In Yemen, the situation is reversed, as a coalition led by Riyadh conducts airstrikes against the Houthi rebels to restore power to Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, while Iranian officials support the Houthi rebels and are simultaneously accused of 'sending weapons' to them. Diplomatic relations between the two countries were severed following the execution of a Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia and the subsequent attack on the Saudi embassy and consulate in Tehran and Mashhad in January 2016.