Abu Dhabi: British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab confirmed that his country shares Saudi Arabia’s concerns about Iranian threats, according to local media.
Raab said British officials were putting their Saudi counterparts in the picture ahead of the Vienna talks related to Iran’s nuclear file, stressing: “Tehran must not have nuclear capabilities in the military field, and we will limit Iran’s destabilising activities in the region and hold it accountable.”
Regarding navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, Raab said: “Freedom of navigation and nuclear weapons are related to the global system, and it is not a personal matter, related to a specific party only.”
The British Foreign Secretary called for Iran to be held accountable for what he described as its “malign activities”.
On the situation in Yemen, Dominic Raab said: “The hostile behaviour of the Al Houthis and the Iranians must be reduced,” revealing that his country is cooperating with Riyadh to counter cyber attacks.
Raab referred to the existing cooperation between Britain and Saudi Arabia to confront the COVID-19 pandemic in the medical and logistical fields, raise awareness of confronting the virus, limiting its spread, and providing Saudi Arabia with vaccines.
He said: “The British-Saudi cooperation extends to environmental affairs and confronting climate change. Saudi Arabia and Britain are moving towards more production of renewable energy in pursuit of a green future.”
He welcomed the green initiatives launched by the Saudi Crown Prince, describing them as essential.
Raab met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the kingdom on Monday and discussed Iran in addition to bilateral ties and climate change, the British foreign office said.
“The UK reaffirms our commitment to tackling our shared security challenges, including Iranian threats and the continued conflict in Yemen,” a foreign office statement quoted Raab as saying, adding that Riyadh was a close friend and long-standing partner.
Saudi Arabia has urged global powers to secure a stronger deal of longer duration at talks in Vienna that aim to bring both the United States and Iran back into full compliance with the pact.
The Saudi foreign ministry said in a Twitter post that the kingdom’s de facto ruler and the British minister had discussed efforts to enhance regional security and stability as well as joint cooperation in various fields.
Saud Arabia leads a military coalition that has been battling Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which has launched missile and drone attacks on the kingdom.
Raad, who also met with his Saudi counterpart, discussed trade and climate change and raised human rights concerns “notably around justice reform and freedom of media expression”, the foreign office said.
