
While Israel prepares its response against Iran, the head of Iranian diplomacy, Abbas Araghtchi, made a visit to Saudi Arabia and Qatar on Wednesday October 9 and Thursday October 10, intended to prevent a regional escalation. In Riyadh, Mr. Araghtchi was received by the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed Ben Salman, known as “MBS”, before meeting, in Doha, with the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Qatar, Mohammed Ben Abderrahmane Al Thani .
“It is the responsibility of all states to maximize their efforts to protect our region from catastrophe, by putting an end to the genocide in Gaza and the aggression against Lebanon”declared the spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Esmaeil Baghaei, on his X account, after this meeting. Israel has promised a severe response to the attack carried out by Iran on its territory on 1er October, with nearly 180 missiles – some of which hit or grazed Israeli strategic sites – in retaliation for the death of its allies, the leaders of Lebanese Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, and Palestinian Hamas, Ismaïl Haniyeh.
The Gulf Arab states could find themselves caught in the crossfire in the event of an escalation between the United States and Israel on the one hand, and Iran and the “axis of resistance” on the other. In Riyadh, Mr. Araghtchi would have transmitted to the Gulf powers a warning from Tehran against the use of their airspace or American military bases in the region against Iran, according to the Reuters agency, citing a senior Iranian official .
A “strong gesture”
US bases on the Arabian Peninsula – in Qatar, the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait – could become targets for Iran or the “axis”, in the event of an extension of the conflict. The Islamic Republic also reportedly warned that any such action would result in a retaliation against these countries.
The American news site Axiosciting Israeli officials, reported on October 2 that the Jewish state could consider targeting oil production facilities in Iran as retaliation. Arab countries in the region fear that the Islamic Republic will retaliate by attacking their own oil infrastructure. In Yemen, the Houthis could resume their attacks against Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, as in the past.
The meeting between Mr. Araghtchi and the Saudi sovereign was seen as a “strong gesture” from “MBS”. She testifies that “Saudi diplomacy is confident that Iran will not attack Saudi interests in retaliation, otherwise the discussions would not have been raised to this level”estimates Saudi expert Aziz Alghashian.
You have 36.05% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.