Iran Wants World to Stop Saudi Sponsorship of Terrorism, Extremism

In a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council, Iran's UN Ambassador Gholam-Ali Khoshrou noted that, "It is imperative for the international community to take necessary action to compel Saudi Arabia to stop its reckless sponsorship of terrorism and extremism in the region and across the globe."
 
In the letter delivered on Thursday, the senior Iranian envoy expressed Tehran’s preparedness to hold dialogue with Saudi Arabia to promote regional peace despite "unlawful and inflammatory" remarks by the Saudi deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, against Iran.
 
"We have no desire, nor any interest, in an escalation of tension in our neighborhood," Khoshrou's letter read.
 
"We continue to stand ready for dialogue and accommodation to promote regional stability, combat destabilizing extremist violence and reject sectarian hatred," the letter wrote.
 
"We hope Saudi Arabia will be persuaded to heed the call of reason," it added.
 
On Tuesday, Salman, who is also Saudi Arabia’s defense minister, ruled out ties with Iran after Tehran announced the possibility of de-escalation of tensions if Riyadh halted its war against Yemen.
 
Earlier in the day, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the Islamic Republic was ready to normalize ties with Riyadh if the Kingdom halted its bombardment of Yemen and stopped supporting extremist groups.
 
Salman also said that any struggle for influence between Iran and Saudi Arabia has to take place "inside Iran, not in Saudi Arabia,” without elaborating on the remark.
 
He stressed that talks with Iran were impossible as Tehran’s goal was to “control the Muslim world.”
 
Saudi Arabia is widely recognized as being among the top sponsors of global terrorism, and Wahhabism, a Saudi extremist interpretation of Islam religion, remains the cradle extremism.
 
Among the 611 groups blacklisted by the US Department of State as terrorist entities, a majority is inspired and even nurtured by Wahhabism, bankrolled by Saudi Arabia, and regard the Shiite Muslims and Iran as their main enemies. Some of the terrorist groups drawing inspiration from Wahhabism include ISIS, al-Qaeda, Taliban, Boko Haram and al-Shabab, terror groups which are wreaking havoc across the world.