Jeddah Ministerial Meeting Calls on Iran to Stop Fueling Sectarianism

Saudi FM Adel al-Jubeir speaks during the emergency meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah. (SPA)
Saudi FM Adel al-Jubeir speaks during the emergency meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah. (SPA)
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Jeddah Ministerial Meeting Calls on Iran to Stop Fueling Sectarianism

Saudi FM Adel al-Jubeir speaks during the emergency meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah. (SPA)
Saudi FM Adel al-Jubeir speaks during the emergency meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah. (SPA)

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir reiterated the Kingdom’s accusations that Iran was still supplying arms and missiles to the Houthi militias in Yemen, adding that it was stoking sectarianism in the region.

"The Iranian regime still continues to smuggle weapons and missiles to the Houthi militias in Yemen with the aim of attacking the Kingdom, its people and its vital interests,” he said during the emergency meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah on Sunday, which was held upon the request of Saudi Arabia.

The minister said that the firing of Iranian ballistic missiles from Yemen demonstrates that the regime is continuing in its aggressive approach of supporting terrorism and blatant interference in the affairs of regional countries.

He noted that the number of these missiles has exceeded 300, including 90 targeting various regions of the Kingdom, mainly Makkah.

Jubeir explained that the emergency meeting was held to take urgent action against the launch of Iran-manufactured ballistic missile towards Riyadh by the Houthis, which is a violation of the OIC charter and United Nations and international laws and resolutions, especially Security Council resolution 2216.

During a press conference on the sidelines of the emergency meeting, he said in response to a question on whether Iran will be suspended or removed from the OIC: "We are looking into available options, and the decision will not be made at a press conference. Houthis are Iran's tool in Yemen to implement its agenda there just as ‘Hezbollah’ implements its agenda in Lebanon."

He accused Tehran of adopting aggressive and negative policies, inciting sectarian strife, interfering in regional affairs, disrespecting neighborly ties, supporting terrorism and violating international resolutions on the use of ballistic missiles.

“The foreign ministers of the members of the OIC have unanimously agreed, for the second time, to condemn Iran's policy and request that it cease. We will continue to address these hostile policies,” the Saudi minister added.

OIC Secretary General Yousef al-Othaimeen, for his part, condemned the actions of the Houthi militia and its refusal to comply positively to the UN and regional efforts to resolve the Yemen crisis through peaceful means.

He expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and backed all the actions taken by the Kingdom to protect its territory.



Bangladesh Says Student Leaders Held for Their Own Safety

People take part in a song march to protest against the indiscriminate killings and mass arrest in Dhaka on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
People take part in a song march to protest against the indiscriminate killings and mass arrest in Dhaka on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Bangladesh Says Student Leaders Held for Their Own Safety

People take part in a song march to protest against the indiscriminate killings and mass arrest in Dhaka on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
People take part in a song march to protest against the indiscriminate killings and mass arrest in Dhaka on July 26, 2024. (AFP)

Bangladesh said three student leaders had been taken into custody for their own safety after the government blamed their protests against civil service job quotas for days of deadly nationwide unrest.

Students Against Discrimination head Nahid Islam and two other senior members of the protest group were Friday forcibly discharged from hospital and taken away by a group of plainclothes detectives.

The street rallies organized by the trio precipitated a police crackdown and days of running clashes between officers and protesters that killed at least 201 people, according to an AFP tally of hospital and police data.

Islam earlier this week told AFP he was being treated at the hospital in the capital Dhaka for injuries sustained during an earlier round of police detention.

Police had initially denied that Islam and his two colleagues were taken into custody before home minister Asaduzzaman Khan confirmed it to reporters late on Friday.

"They themselves were feeling insecure. They think that some people were threatening them," he said.

"That's why we think for their own security they needed to be interrogated to find out who was threatening them. After the interrogation, we will take the next course of action."

Khan did not confirm whether the trio had been formally arrested.

Days of mayhem last week saw the torching of government buildings and police posts in Dhaka, and fierce street fights between protesters and riot police elsewhere in the country.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's government deployed troops, instituted a nationwide internet blackout and imposed a curfew to restore order.

- 'Carried out raids' -

The unrest began when police and pro-government student groups attacked street rallies organized by Students Against Discrimination that had remained largely peaceful before last week.

Islam, 26, the chief coordinator of Students Against Discrimination, told AFP from his hospital bed on Monday that he feared for his life.

He said that two days beforehand, a group of people identifying themselves as police detectives blindfolded and handcuffed him and took him to an unknown location to be tortured before he was released the next morning.

His colleague Asif Mahmud, also taken into custody at the hospital on Friday, told AFP earlier that he had also been detained by police and beaten at the height of last week's unrest.

Police have arrested at least 4,500 people since the unrest began.

"We've carried out raids in the capital and we will continue the raids until the perpetrators are arrested," Dhaka Metropolitan Police joint commissioner Biplob Kumar Sarker told AFP.

"We're not arresting general students, only those who vandalized government properties and set them on fire."