Todd Bishop
Saudi Arabia held two emergency summits in Mecca on Thursday (30th) local time. The King of Saudi Arabia, King Salman, called on the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf to work closely to curb Iran’s “progressive behavior” in the region.
Salman accused Iran of developing nuclear weapons and missile programs, posing risks to regional and global security, intimidating international ships, threatening global oil supplies, and calling on the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf to cooperate closely to safeguard the Gulf Cooperation Council (Gulf Cooperation) Council, GCC) National security.
Salman mentioned the attack on the Fujairah Port oil tanker in early May and the drone attack on Saudi oil transportation equipment, pointing out that “it is precise because we did not take a firm deterrent position against Iran’s actions.” The current situation has escalated.”
The situation in the Persian Gulf continued to be tense since the attack on four oil tankers in Fujairah port on May 12. At present, the United States has strengthened its military deployment in the Middle East, including dispatching the “Lincoln” aircraft carrier, deploying the B-52 bomber, and adding 1,500 troops to the Middle East.
US National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday that it was almost certain that Iran was behind the attack on the Fujairah oil tanker, while Iran denied the allegations and said Bolton’s remarks were “ridiculous.”
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Thursday that Iran is destroying oil tankers and oil equipment in order to raise global oil prices.
Saudi Arabia held an emergency summit to discuss the current situation with the Arab countries in the region, and Qatar was also invited by Saudi Arabia. Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser al-Thani went to Mecca to attend the meeting and will attend the Islamic Cooperation Organization meeting on Friday (31st). This is the first public contact between Saudi and Qatar since the break of diplomatic relations in 2017. However, the relationship between the two sides has not shown signs of easing.
Saudi Arabia and its allies accused Qatar of supporting Iran and the Islamic movement behind it, but Qatar denied the allegations.
