We won't stand idle, Arab League warns Tehran

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SPECIAL MEET: Arab foreign ministers, including UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash, meet in Cairo. — AP
SPECIAL MEET: Arab foreign ministers, including UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash, meet in Cairo. - AP

Cairo - Bahrain says Lebanon under the full control of Hezbollah

By Agencies

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Published: Mon 20 Nov 2017, 10:26 PM

Saudi Arabia and other Arab foreign ministers criticised Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah at an emergency meeting in Cairo on Sunday, warning they would not stand by in the face of Iranian interference in Arab affairs.
Regional tensions have risen in recent weeks between Saudi Arabia and Iran over Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri's surprise resignation, and an escalation in Yemen's conflict. Hariri, a Saudi ally, resigned on November 4 from Riyadh, accusing Iran and Hezbollah of spreading strife.
In his speech to the League meeting, Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said the Hezbollah movement was "in total control" of Lebanon. "Iran's biggest arm in the region at the moment is the terrorist Hezbollah arm," Sheikh Khalid charged.
He called on countries such as Lebanon "where Hezbollah is a partner in government to carry their responsibility".
"The Lebanese Republic, in spite of our relations with it as a brotherly Arab nation, is under the total control of this terrorist party," he said.
Saudi Arabia asked fellow Arabs to take a "serious and honest" stand against Iran, saying that showing leniency towards Tehran would only encourage it to press on with its "aggression" and "meddling" in the internal affairs of Arab countries.
Addressing the Cairo meeting, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al Jubeir said the pan-Arab organisation needed to take a decision to be "non-compromising" in dealing with Iran. He cited a ballistic missile fired by Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen earlier this month that was intercepted near the Saudi capital, Riyadh, as an example of how far Iran has gone with its aggressive policy in the region.
"Showing leniency towards Iran will not leave any Arab capital safe from those ballistic missiles," he said. "We are obliged today to take a serious and honest stand to counter these belligerent policies so that we can protect our security," said Al Jubeir.
He said his country was targeted by a total of 80 ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Iranian-backed rebels since the kingdom in 2015 led a coalition to fight them alongside the internationally recognised government there.
Saudi Arabia, he added, will not stand idly by in the face of Iran's "blatant aggression".
Diplomats said a Saudi draft resolution put forward to the Arab ministers is proposing a declaration of solidarity with the kingdom and stating Arab support for actions it might take to safeguard its national security in the face of Tehran's policies. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to brief the media.
The Saudi draft also includes a warning to Iran against continuing its present policies in the region and orders Arab diplomats to request a meeting of the UN Security Council to discuss what it called Iranian "threats", added the diplomats.
Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit told ministers that Arab nations would raise the matter with international organisations, including the UN Security Council. But the assembly gave no details on what measures they would take.


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