Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah called on Iran on Thursday to cease its attacks on Gulf and Arab countries, warning that its behavior will have a price.
Speaking to the press after a meeting between foreign ministers of the Gulf Arab states and others over the Iranian attacks in Riyadh, he strongly condemned the Iranian attacks, urging the need for collective work to avert further escalation with a focus on defending the security and stability of nations.
The FMs stressed the importance of bolstering joint coordination and consultations to confront the rising security challenges and work together to support regional stability and prevent the conflict from widening.
"What little trust there was before has completely been shattered," Prince Faisal said.
"The attacks on my country and on my neighboring countries that are not involved in this conflict — that’s all I’m interested in," Prince Faisal said. "We’re going to use every lever we have — political, economic, diplomatic and otherwise — to get these attacks to stop."
He criticized Iran’s attacks on Riyadh. "The targeting of Riyadh while a number of diplomats are meeting... I cannot see it as coincidental. I think that's the clearest signal of how Iran feels about diplomacy," Prince Faisal said.
"It tries to pressure its neighbors, and that’s not going to work. It doesn't believe in talking to its neighbors."
"The Kingdom is not going to succumb to pressure, and on the contrary, this pressure will backfire... and certainly, as we have stated quite clearly, we have reserved the right to take military actions if deemed necessary," he said.
The foreign minister condemned the repeated targeting of civilian sites across the Gulf, dismissing Iran's justification that it was targeting US interests in the region as "weak".
"Neither Saudi Arabia nor the Gulf states would accept... blackmail, and escalation will be met with escalation," he said.
These countries have repeatedly said that their territories will not be turned into a launchpad for any military actions against neighbors, he stressed.
Iran will not become a real partner for regional countries given its hostile behavior, he added.
Asked about Iran’s claim that it was targeting US military bases in the Gulf, Prince Faisal said Tehran "has been saying this for years. At the same time, it has repeatedly denied its relationship with armed militias in the region. It always uses weak excuses to target the American presence."
"We have clearly said this to Iran before, the Kingdom will not become a party in the is war. It will not allow its military assets to be used in the war even though our infrastructure has been attacked from day one of the conflict," he remarked.
"Iran had pre-planned these heinous attacks. They are an extension of its behavior that is based on extortion and sponsoring militias, threatening the security and stability of neighboring countries," he went on to say.
The Iranians are practicing political extortion and the Kingdom and Gulf countries reject this, he declared.
"Iran must realize that Gulf countries are capable of political and other forms of responses. They will not back down from defending their countries," he warned. "We hope they get the message of this meeting and cease to attack their neighbors, but I doubt that they are that wise."
"If Iran doesn’t immediately cease its attacks, then nothing will be able to restore trust with it," he continued. "The patience we have shown is not limitless and Iran’s escalation will be met with escalation, whether on the political level or others."
"Iran was never a strategic partner to the Kingdom. It could have had it abandoned its ideas of hegemony over the region, exporting the revolution and the use of force," said Prince Faisal.
"Saudi Arabia has repeatedly tried to extend its hand to the Iranian brothers, the last of which was the Beijing agreement, but the Iranians did not reciprocate," he added.
A joint statement from the foreign ministers' meeting in Riyadh condemned "the deliberate use of ballistic missiles and drones targeting residential areas and civilian infrastructure, including oil facilities, desalination plants, airports, residential facilities and diplomatic missions".
The ministers "affirmed that such attacks cannot be justified under any circumstances and reiterated the right of states to defend themselves", the statement added, calling on Iran to "immediately cease its attacks" and de-escalate tensions.
