ROME: Saudi Arabia and Iran have exported their bitter regional tussle to Rome, accusing each other of villainous meddling in the Middle East during diplomacy talks in the Italian capital.
“They have literally got away with murder in our region and the world,” Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir told a three-day conference on creating “a positive agenda” in the Mediterranean on Friday.
The gathering, called ‘Beyond Turmoil’, became the stage for a bitter slanging match between the two countries, with Al-Jubeir saying Iran’s “negative influence throughout the region” was clear to see.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are engaged in a regional battle for dominance being fought by proxies in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Lebanon and other countries — a tussle which has drawn in the West.
“Since 1979 Iran has been the world’s chief sponsor of terrorism”, Al-Jubeir said.
Tehran “harbours and facilitates the movement of terrorists” and “established Hezbollah in Lebanon, using it to launder money and smuggle drugs,” he added.