King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud told the international community that it should make efforts to stop Tehran from continuing its nuclear missile programme. The news follows Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir stating that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would seek to acquire its own nuclear capabilities if Iran decided to go ahead with its programme. It eventually led to the US, a Saudi ally, imposing crippling sanctions on Iran, including the export of Iranian crude oil. King Salman, 82, who did not mention the Khashoggi affair, condemned the actions of Iran, its main rival for influence in the region, including the conflicts in Syria, Iraq and Yemen.
King Salman said: “The Iranian regime has always intervened in the internal affairs of other countries, sponsored terrorism, created chaos and devastation in many countries in the region.
“The international community has to work to put an end to the Iranian nuclear program and stop its activities that threaten security and stability.”
The King’s annual remarks were made to the Shura Council, a top governmental advisory body, were his first public comments since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, which caused a global outcry.
The King said Riyadh supported UN efforts to end the conflict in Yemen, where a Saudi-backed coalition has been battling Iran-aligned Houthi rebels for nearly four years to restore the internationally-recognized government.
Continuing he said: “Our standing by Yemen was not an option but a duty to support the Yemeni people in confronting the aggression of Iranian-backed militias,” he said.
The reputation of Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, has been further battered by Khashoggi’s murder.
King Salman has largely stepped back from active political life and handed extensive authority to his son and heir apparent, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, but is now trying to defuse the crisis caused by the murder and shore up the crown prince.
Prince Mohammed, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, will participate in the G20 summit in Argentina at the end of the month as part of a foreign trip, Al Arabiya television quoted the country’s energy minister as saying on Monday.
In his speech, King Salman said Riyadh would continue working with OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers to maintain stability in global energy markets.
Last week, after offering numerous contradictory explanations for Khashoggi’s disappearance, Riyadh said he had been killed and his body dismembered when “negotiations” to convince him to return to Saudi Arabia failed.
The public prosecutor said it would seek the death penalty for five suspects in the case.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said the order for the killing of Khashoggi came from the highest level of the Saudi leadership.
However, it probably did not come from King Salman, putting the spotlight instead on the 33-year-old crown prince.