Rouhani: Saudi tensions with Iran ‘to cover up defeats’

Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has accused Saudi Arabia of stoking tensions with his country to distract from its own problems.

In an interview with Iranian television on Tuesday, the Iranian leader said his country’s relations had improved with neighbouring states, such as Turkey and Pakistan, but that Saudi Arabia was an exception.

“Saudi Arabia is looking for tension with Iran to cover up defeats in the region and internal problems,” Rouhani said, blaming Riyadh for the poor state of relations between the two regional powers.

“Today, we have better relations with Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Qatar. We may have problems with a couple of countries such as Saudi Arabia, which they have fanned.

“Saudi Arabia is seeking today to solve two fundamental problems…the first reason is that Saudi Arabia failed in Qatar and failed in Iraq and in Syria and finally failed in Lebanon as well.

“The second reason is the situation inside Saudi Arabia, the situation is tense and there are internal disputes, so they portray Iran as an enemy to cover up their failure and their internal problems.”

Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of arming Houthi rebels in Yemen and blamed it for a missile attack north of its capital earlier in November.

Read full article on Aljazeera, November 29, 2017.