US assurances put Riyadh at ease over Iran

"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was satisfied with these assurances after having spent the last two months consulting with our allies," Jubeir said following a meeting between Obama and Saudi King Salman in Washington on Friday.

He also stated that the nuclear accord “will contribute to security and stability in the region.”

Jubeir’s remarks came hours after Washington announced that the Saudi king had voiced his backing for Iran’s nuclear agreement.

“King Salman expressed his support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the P5 + 1 countries,” read a statement issued by the White House.

Tehran and the P5+1 - the US, Russia, China, France, Britain, and Germany - finalized the JCPOA over the Iranian nuclear program on July 14. Under the JCPOA, limits will be put on Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for, among other things, the removal of all economic and financial bans against the Islamic Republic.

Saudi Arabia’s top diplomat, however, repeated the kingdom's baseless allegations about Iran’s role in the conflicts of the Middle East, saying Tehran’s policies destabilize the region.

Jubeir made the Iranophobic remarks despite the fact Riyadh has notoriously lent staunch support to Takfiri terrorist groups operating in the region, and its full-fledged war against Yemen has left thousands of people dead.

This is the first visit of Salman to the United States as the king of Saudi Arabia. Back in May, Salman refused to travel to Camp David, Maryland, and to join other representatives of the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council, a move pundits interpreted as Riyadh’s protest against Washington’s policies on the Iranian nuclear program.

/SR

'US assurances put Riyadh at ease over Iran'