US Centcom Chief: Evidence Points to Iran Links to Attacks on Saudi Arabia
US Central Command chief Kenneth McKenzie stated on
Thursday that evidence points to Iran’s connection to attacks against civilians
and civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.
The US general was talking to reporters in Riyadh at
a joint news conference with General Prince Fahd bin Turki, commander of the
Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen.
Asked by Asharq Al-Awsat about the growing Iranian
threat in the region, he replied that Washington was not seeking war with
Tehran.
The US is seeking to change Iran’s behavior and
deter its destabilizing actions in the region, he added.
The attacks by Iran’s proxies on Saudi Arabia are a
problem that must be addressed, McKenzie stressed.
This is an international responsibility, not just an
American one, he remarked. The US will ensure that it will be part of the
solution.
“We are currently talking with the international
community about the right to freedom of navigation in the Middle East that will
include passage to the Strait of Hormuz and passage to the Bab al Mandeb,”
Mckenzie said.
Saudi officials took McKenzie on a tour of an
exhibit displaying missiles and drones produced by Iran and used in the Houthi
attacks.
