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Arab League Accuses Iran Of Having Hostile Arab Policy

As tension between Iran and its regional rival Saudi Arabia shows no sign of ending, foreign ministers from the Arab League countries held an emergency meeting in Cairo on Monday and criticized Iran for what they described as it’s  destabilizing policy towards Arab countries. 

They also vowed to take Iran to the UN security council. 

Tensions between Tehran and Riyadh increased this week after Yemeni Houthis fired a ballistic missile on Saudi Araba. The move sparked strong anger among the Saudis and they accused Iran of giving weapons to the Houthis, something Iran has always denied.

In his speech to the Arab League foreign ministers meeting, Saudi foreign minister Adel Al-Jubeir said: "Showing leniency toward Iran will not leave any Arab capital safe from those ballistic missiles."

Later, Saudi officials asked Arab countries to adopt a harsher stance against Iran.

"We are not declaring war on Iran at this stage," Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said. "We have not taken a decision to ask the Security Council to meet, but we are just briefing the council and maybe the next stage would be for us to meet and call for a Security Council meeting and submit a draft Arab resolution (against Iran)."

Meanwhile, Bahraini foreign minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa has also said that Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement works as Iran’s proxy and that the movement is fueling tension among the people in the region.

He  said that his country had been inflicted by "thousands of wounds" by Iran.

"Iran has arms in the region, the largest of which is Hezbollah," he said, adding that Iran threatened the security of Arab states.

However the Houthis in war-torn Yemen have repeatedly denied receiving any assistance from Tehran in Yemen's war, claiming the Burkan 2-H missile was produced in Yemen from modified weaponry.

On Saturday, Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, said on Twitter in Arabic that he had submitted a letter to the United Nations in which he urged the implementation of a previous four-point plan to solve what he called the "tragic situation in Yemen", where Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition to defeat the Houthi rebels.

Foreign ministers from Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Nigeria and Qatar did not attend the meeting.

This comes a few days after Israeli minister of military affairs extended the hand of friendship to Arab countries, calling on them to form an alliance against Iran.

Avigdor Lieberman wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday that the Middle East region now requires an anti-Iran coalition.

“40 years after his (Sadat’s) historic visit to Israel, I call on leaders in the region to follow the path of President Sadat, come to Jerusalem (al-Quds) and open a new chapter, not just in terms of Israel’s relations with the Arab world, but for the whole region,” Lieberman wrote.

Arab League Accuses Iran Of Having Hostile Arab Policy

Tension between Tehran and Riyadh has increased in the past week especially after Yemen’s Houthis fired a missile on Saudi Arabia. 

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As tension between Iran and its regional rival Saudi Arabia shows no sign of ending, foreign ministers from the Arab League countries held an emergency meeting in Cairo on Monday and criticized Iran for what they described as it’s  destabilizing policy towards Arab countries. 

They also vowed to take Iran to the UN security council. 

Tensions between Tehran and Riyadh increased this week after Yemeni Houthis fired a ballistic missile on Saudi Araba. The move sparked strong anger among the Saudis and they accused Iran of giving weapons to the Houthis, something Iran has always denied.

In his speech to the Arab League foreign ministers meeting, Saudi foreign minister Adel Al-Jubeir said: "Showing leniency toward Iran will not leave any Arab capital safe from those ballistic missiles."

Later, Saudi officials asked Arab countries to adopt a harsher stance against Iran.

"We are not declaring war on Iran at this stage," Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said. "We have not taken a decision to ask the Security Council to meet, but we are just briefing the council and maybe the next stage would be for us to meet and call for a Security Council meeting and submit a draft Arab resolution (against Iran)."

Meanwhile, Bahraini foreign minister Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa has also said that Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement works as Iran’s proxy and that the movement is fueling tension among the people in the region.

He  said that his country had been inflicted by "thousands of wounds" by Iran.

"Iran has arms in the region, the largest of which is Hezbollah," he said, adding that Iran threatened the security of Arab states.

However the Houthis in war-torn Yemen have repeatedly denied receiving any assistance from Tehran in Yemen's war, claiming the Burkan 2-H missile was produced in Yemen from modified weaponry.

On Saturday, Iran's foreign minister, Javad Zarif, said on Twitter in Arabic that he had submitted a letter to the United Nations in which he urged the implementation of a previous four-point plan to solve what he called the "tragic situation in Yemen", where Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition to defeat the Houthi rebels.

Foreign ministers from Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Nigeria and Qatar did not attend the meeting.

This comes a few days after Israeli minister of military affairs extended the hand of friendship to Arab countries, calling on them to form an alliance against Iran.

Avigdor Lieberman wrote on his Facebook page on Saturday that the Middle East region now requires an anti-Iran coalition.

“40 years after his (Sadat’s) historic visit to Israel, I call on leaders in the region to follow the path of President Sadat, come to Jerusalem (al-Quds) and open a new chapter, not just in terms of Israel’s relations with the Arab world, but for the whole region,” Lieberman wrote.

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