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WORLD NEWS Monday 20 noveMber 2017

Arab League delivers harsh criticism of Iran, little action

Both Iraq and Lebanon powers to promote their foreign minister, asked fel-
were represented at the interests. Saudi Arabia, a low Arab nations to take a
meeting by senior diplo- Sunni powerhouse, has “serious and honest” stand
mats, not their foreign min- significantly sharpened its against Iranian “aggres-
isters. anti-Iran rhetoric since its sion” and “meddling” in
The Lebanese envoy to forces on Nov. 4 intercept- the internal affairs of Arab
the Arab League, Antoine ed near its capital, Riyadh, countries.
Azzam, made carefully a ballistic missile fired by Addressing the Arab foreign
weighed comments at the Shiite rebels in Yemen who ministers’ meeting, Foreign
meeting that reflected his are allied with the Iranians. Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said:
country’s delicate religious The Saudis said the missile “Showing leniency toward
and ethnic balance. was Iranian-made and de- Iran will not leave any Arab
While not mentioning Iran clared the attack an act of capital safe from those bal-
by name, he said Lebanon war by the Iranians. listic missiles.”
condemned all attacks Iran denies arming the Ye- “We are obliged today to
against Arab nations, but meni rebels, known as the take a serious and honest
blamed exploitable inter- Houthis, who say they lo- stand... to counter these
Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, left, and his Arab divisions that allowed cally produced the missile belligerent policies,” he
Bahraini counterpart, Sheik Khalid Bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, right,
meet with foreign ministers at the Arab League headquarters in international and regional Saudi Arabia, through its added.q
Cairo, Egypt, Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017.
(AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)
By HAMZA HENDAWI details.
Associated Press “We are not declaring
CAIRO (AP) — In a resolu- war on Iran at this stage,”
tion long on criticism but Arab League chief Ahmed
short on concrete steps, Aboul-Gheit said. “We
Arab foreign ministers who have not taken a deci-
met in Cairo Sunday deliv- sion to ask the Security
ered a tirade of criticism Council to meet, but we
against Iran and its Leba- are just briefing the coun-
nese proxy Hezbollah, say- cil and maybe the next
ing Tehran was destabiliz- stage would be for us to
ing the region. meet and call for a Security
They said they planned to Council meeting and sub-
“brief” the U.N. Security mit a draft Arab resolution
Council on Iran’s destabi- (against Iran).”
lizing policies in the region, Lebanon, where Hezbollah
particularly its support for is a key member of a coali-
Shiite rebels in Yemen, with tion government, and Iraq,
a view to submit at a later a majority Shiite nation
stage an anti-Iran Arab res- bound by close political
olution. and religious ties to Iran,
In what is perhaps the stated their reservations
only concrete measure, about the harsher parts of
the ministers said Arab the resolution, including
telecommunications sat- one that branded Hezbol-
ellites would ban Iranian- lah a “terrorist” organiza-
financed television stations tion. The draft also blamed
for what they said was their the Shiite group of support-
fomenting of sectarian and ing “terrorist groups” across
ethnic tensions and be- the region and supplying
cause they posed a threat them with weapons, in-
to Arab security. It gave no cluding ballistic missiles.