Rouhani says Saudi Arabia, UAE owe their existence today to Iran
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday
that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates owed their existence to Iran
because it had refused to help former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein invade the
two countries.
“Had it not been for Iran’s rational decision back
then not to cooperate with Saddam, there would have been no trace of these
countries today,” Rouhani said. “They owe their existence today to Iran.”
Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, which resulted in the
seven-month-long Iraqi occupation of the country.
“Before invading Saudi neighbor Kuwait, Saddam had
told Iran that Iraq and Iran will be sharing 800 kilometers in border in the
Persian Gulf,” Rouhani said.
“This shows that Saddam was seeking to occupy Saudi
Arabia, Oman, the Emirates, and Qatar in addition to Kuwait.”
Rouhani’s comments come after the US said it will
not reissue waivers for countries to be exempt from the ban on buying Iranian
oil.
Saudi Arabia had said that it will ensure oil market
stability in light of the US decision.
