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Zarif: US Arms Deals Won't Secure Saudi Arabia

Zarif: US Arms Deals Won't Secure Saudi Arabia
folder_openIran access_time6 years ago
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Local Editor

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the recent US arms deal with Saudi Arabia will fail to guarantee lasting security for Saudi Arabia as claimed by the US State Department.

Zarif: US Arms Deals Won't Secure Saudi Arabia

On his first overseas trip since taking office, US President Donald Trump attended a signing ceremony on May 20 for almost $110 billion worth of military equipment to be conveyed to support Saudi Arabia's military.

"If past performance is an indicator of future success, another $110 billion worth of weapons will neither reduce 'the burden' on the American military nor support 'the long-term security of Saudi Arabia'," Zarif said in an article in the New York Times on Friday.

He added that Saudis provided billions to the former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to arm his war of aggression against Iran in the 1980s, saying, "Look what that bought them and the world."

The $110 billion arms deal signed by Saudi King Salman and Trump on Saturday was a component of $350 billion in economic and military investments between the two countries over the next 10 years, according to US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

The US State Department claimed that the package of military equipment and services supports the long-term security of Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf region in the face of the alleged Iranian threat, adding that it also bolsters Saudi Arabia's ability to provide for its own security and continue contributing to counterterrorism operations across the region, reducing the burden on US military forces.

Zarif further said that in the best-case scenario, Trump is "extorting our Saudi neighbors" and in the worst one, Trump "could be turning the United States into Saudi Arabia's mercenary in the Middle East."

"Let me be clear: What President Trump called 'lots of beautiful military equipment' won't drain the swamps in which terrorism and extremist militancy fester. Neither will golden chains or glowing orbs provide a magical solution to the socioeconomic and political challenges that drive radicalization," Zarif pointed out.

He stressed the importance of making a genuine effort to forge inclusive engagement among regional countries based on coexistence and the acceptance of futility of military approaches to regional crises.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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