Rouhani: Saudi Arabia Labels Us as Enemies to Cover Up Its Regional Failures

The President of Iran stated that Saudi Arabia is trying to label the Islamic Republic as its enemy to "cover up" its regional failures and severe internal crises. Hassan Rouhani made this remark on the evening of December 7 during a live television interview regarding the performance report of his administration's first 100 days, broadcasted on Iran's Channel One. Rouhani declared that the foundation of his foreign policy is "dignified interaction" with the world's nations, adding that his government aims to resolve regional problems through "negotiation, not confrontation." He described Iran's assistance to Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) and the crisis in the Kurdistan region as part of efforts to "secure and stabilize the region." The Iranian President further characterized Tehran's communications with regional and Western countries as "good" and regarding the hostile Tehran-Riyadh relations, he stated that "Saudi Arabia is exacerbating its own problems." He claimed that Saudi officials are introducing Iran as their enemy to "cover up Riyadh's failures" in the region and its "acute internal problems." Rouhani asserted, "Saudi Arabia has been unsuccessful in Qatar, Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon and wants to cover up its failures. Additionally, the internal issues in Saudi Arabia, their disagreements and internal chaos, are serious matters, and they want to introduce a country as their enemy to cover up their internal issues." Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia are considered regional rivals, facing off in many regional crises, including Syria and Yemen. In recent years, the two countries have intensified their verbal war against each other. Mohammed bin Salman, the influential Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, referred to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the leader of Iran, as the "new Hitler of the Middle East" in an interview with the American newspaper "The New York Times" last week, which provoked anger among Iranian officials. The resignation of Saad Hariri, the Prime Minister of Lebanon, this month, and the pointing of fingers at the Hezbollah group, which posed a threat to his life, have increased tensions in Tehran-Riyadh relations. Hezbollah has claimed that Hariri's resignation was orchestrated by Saudi Arabia and denied the accusations. Hariri returned to Lebanon last week and retracted his resignation but continued to criticize Hezbollah. In another part of his speech, the Iranian President stated that Tehran must "artfully" navigate regional problems and not become "politically angry," adding that both "diplomatic and military power" are needed. Rouhani also referred to the JCPOA agreement, calling it an "indestructible success," and noted that the Islamic Republic was able to utilize the "opening" created by the JCPOA and must continue to work to ensure that "the enemy fails in its next steps to undermine it." He also mentioned the increase in his regular meetings with leaders of other branches and military commanders, deeming it important for expediting matters and solving political, social, and economic issues. The highest executive authority in Iran stated that he was not under pressure in appointing ministers and acted based on the "interests of society" and emphasized the importance of national cohesion and unity in the current regional and global conditions, which is why he has increased meetings with the heads of the legislative and judicial branches and the armed forces. Rouhani also mentioned that he has not forgotten his electoral promises and, without referring to the house arrest of the leaders of the 2009 election protesters, added that achieving the people's demands requires "greater coordination among all branches of government" and that a better atmosphere has been created, although it still falls short of the people's demands.