Saudi king urges world to deter Iranian nuclear aims

By Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) - Saudi Arabia's monarch urged the world to take further decisive action to prevent Iran from attaining its "ambitions" to develop nuclear weapons.

In an online speech Wednesday night ahead of the eighth session of the country's Shura Council, King Salman bin Abdelaziz accused Iran of destabilizing the region as it continued to develop "its ballistic missile programs" and back Yemeni Houthi rebels.

"The kingdom affirms the seriousness of the Iranian regime's regional project [...] and calls on the international community to take a firm stance towards Iran," King Salman was quoted by The National as saying.

He also stressed that Saudi Arabia stood firmly against terrorism, extremism and sectarian strife in the region.

During the speech, King Salman laid out Riyadh's position towards various regional issues, including the situations in Libya and Palestine, where he welcomed recent talks in Tunisia between warring Libyan parties and their agreement on determining terms for Libyan national elections.

He also affirmed the kingdom's support for the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, as stated in the 2000 Arab Peace initiative.