Jeddah: Iran must withdraw its “occupying” forces from Syria to help resolve that country’s conflict, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al Faisal said Monday after talks with his German counterpart.
“Our reservations are about Iran’s policy in the region, not about Iran as a country or people,” the foreign minister said at a joint press conference in the Red Sea city of Jeddah with Germany’s Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
“In many conflicts, Iran is part of the problem, not the solution,” Prince Saud said, charging that Iran had forces in Syria “fighting Syrians.”
“In this case, we can say that Iranian forces in Syria are occupying forces,” aiding President Bashar Al Assad, whom he described as an “illegitimate” leader.
Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states support rebel groups which have been battling Al Assad since March 2011 in a war which has killed more than 180,000 people.
Al Assad receives financial and military aid from Iran, which denies having fighters on the ground.
He is also backed by fighters from Lebanon’s pro-Iranian Shiite movement Hezbollah, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
“If Iran wants to be part of the solution in Syria, it has to pull its forces from Syria. The same applies elsewhere, whether in Yemen or Iraq,” the Saudi minister said.
Iran is accused of backing Al Houthi rebels in Yemen, who overran the capital Sana’a on September 21.
Iran and Iraq have grown closer in the realms of government and security since the overthrow of Saddam Hussain in the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq.
Among the many groups fighting Al Assad is Daesh, which Saudi Arabia and four other Arab states are now battling under a US-led coalition.
The Arab nations have taken part in or given support to coalition air strikes against the Daesh militants in Syria.
The extremist Daesh has seized large parts of Syria and Iraq, declaring a “caliphate” where they have been accused of carrying out widespread atrocities, including mass executions, crucifixions and beheadings, and forcing women into slavery.
