Iran says ready to work with Saudis to build strong region, end US conceit
Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Iran is prepared to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in order to build a strong region together and put an end to the US humiliation of regional countries.
“President Trump repeatedly humiliates the Saudis by saying they can't last 2 weeks without his support,” Zarif said in a Thursday tweet.
“This is the recompense for the delusion that one's security can be outsourced. We again extend our hand to our neighbors: let's build a "strong region", and stop this conceit,” the Iranian top diplomat added.
President Trump repeatedly humiliates the Saudis by saying they can't last 2 weeks without his support. This is the recompense for the delusion that one's security can be outsourced.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) October 4, 2018
We again extend our hand to our neighbors: let's build a "strong region", and stop this conceit. pic.twitter.com/pKEreBBbNN
Zarif made the comments in reaction to Tuesday remarks by US President Donald Trump, who said he had warned Saudi Arabia's King Salman he would not last in power "for two weeks" without the US military support.
"We protect Saudi Arabia. Would you say they're rich. And I love the King, King Salman. But I said 'King — we're protecting you — you might not be there for two weeks without us — you have to pay for your military,'" Trump said to cheers at a rally in Southaven, Mississippi.
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The humiliating remarks came a few days after Trump called on Riyadh to increase its military spending, with an eye on more weapons sales to the "rich" kingdom.
"I love Saudi Arabia. They are great, King Salman, I spoke with him this morning. I said, king, you have got trillions of dollars. Without us, who knows what’s going to happen. .... With us they are totally safe. But we don’t get what we should be getting," he said at a rally in West Virginia on September 29.
Analysts believe the US president is milking wealthy Persian Gulf Arab countries and exploiting conflicts in the Middle East to boost American arms sales to the oil-rich states.
Saudi Arabia is the world's top oil exporter and the de facto leader of OPEC, which Trump has criticized for high oil prices.
Speaking at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September, Trump said OPEC member states were "as usual ripping off the rest of the world."
"We defend many of these nations for nothing, and then they take advantage of us by giving us high oil prices. Not good. We want them to stop raising prices, we want them to start lowering prices," Trump said.
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