Saudi source rubbishes NYT report of encouraging prolonged US war with Iran

A Saudi source tells Al Arabiya that a report by The New York Times claiming that the Kingdom’s leadership is encouraging a prolonged war with Iran is false. pic.twitter.com/YTRfv8Za0W

Read More: Saudi Arabia denies lobbying Trump for Iran strikes

Earlier this month, the Saudi embassy in Washington also denied a report by The Washington Post which alleged that Saudi Arabia had been privately lobbying the US administration to launch strikes against Iran.

Saudi Arabia has publicly maintained that it is working with Gulf countries to prevent a military confrontation in the region and has stated it would not participate in any potential war.

A day earlier, Alireza Enayati, Tehran's ambassador to Saudi Arabia, told Reuters that Iran's relations with Gulf states will require a "serious review" in light of the US-Israeli war on Iran, limiting ‌the power of external actors so the region can become prosperous.

Asked if he was concerned that relations would be harmed by the war, Ambassador Alireza Enayati said: "It's a valid question, and the answer may be simple. We are neighbors and we cannot do without each other; we will ​need a serious review."

"What the region has witnessed over the past five decades is the result of an exclusionary approach [within the region] ​and an excessive reliance on external powers," he said in a written response to questions, calling for deeper ties ⁠between the Gulf Cooperation Council's six members, along with Iraq and Iran.

Enayati denied that Iran was responsible for the attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure, including the Ras Tanura refinery on the east coast and dozens of attempted drone attacks on the Shaybah oil field in ​the desert near the UAE border.

"Iran ​is not the party responsible for ⁠these attacks, and if Iran had carried them out, it would have announced it," he said. He did not say who had carried out the attacks.

Also Read: Iran wants 'serious review' of Gulf ties, denies role in Saudi oil attacks

Saudi Defence Ministry statements have not assigned blame for individual incidents. Enayati ​said Iran was only attacking US and Israeli targets and interests.

Tensions in the Middle East escalated sharply after US and Israeli air strikes last month assassinated Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior officials, triggering a wave of retaliation from Tehran and widening the conflict across the region. In response to the strikes, Iran launched retaliatory attacks on US military bases in several Gulf countries, significantly expanding the scope of the confrontation.

Gulf Arab states have faced more than 2,000 missile and drone attacks since ​the outbreak of the war on February 28, with targets including US diplomatic missions and military bases but also critical Gulf oil infrastructure, ports, airports, hotels ​and residential and office buildings.