Saudi-Israeli Alliance Against Iran in the Making

A lawmaker said the same Iranophobic language used by Saudi and Israeli officials in their addresses to the 53rd Munich Security Conference is a clear sign that the two are forming an alliance against Iran.

"Riyadh and Tel Aviv are establishing a military, economic and political alliance against Iran. According to available information, the two began secret contacts over a decade ago and they are uncovering their friendship now," Mohammad Javad Jamali told ICANA on Monday.

Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi foreign minister, on Sunday described Iran as the main sponsor of global "terrorism" and a destabilizing force in the Middle East.

"Iran remains the single main sponsor of terrorism in the world," he told delegates at the Munich conference, adding that the "international community" needed to set clear "redlines" to halt Iran's actions.

Avigdor Lieberman, the defense minister of the Zionist regime, said Iran's ultimate objective was to undermine Saudi Arabia.

"The real division is not Jews, Muslims ... but moderate people versus radical people," he told the conference delegates on Sunday.

Their comments came after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Persian Gulf states should surmount "the current state of division and tension" and move to form a "realistic regional security arrangement".

US President Donald Trump, who has taken a tough line on Iran, has also described Iran as the "number one terrorist state".

  Attempt to Reverse Defeats 

Jamali said Saudi officials are echoing Israeli-US propaganda against Iran while Saudi clerics preaching Wahhabism have laid the foundations for "religious terrorism" in West Asia.

"Terrorist outfits such as Al-Qaeda, Taliban, Abu-Sayyaf, Ahrar al-Sham, Islamic State and tens of others have all been created and armed directly by Saudi Arabia," he said.

Wahhabism is an extreme interpretation of Islam founded by Saudi Arabian Muhammad bin Abd al-Wahhab, under which followers of certain Muslim sects, including Shias, are considered apostates punishable by death. Almost all these terrorist groups profess strict adherence to Wahhabism.

However, a majority of mainstream Sunni and Shia Muslims worldwide strongly disagree with Wahhabism.

Jamali said Saudis are using aggressive diplomacy against Iran and getting closer to Israelis to turn the tide and prevent more regional failures.

"Saudis have suffered humiliating defeats in the region in recent years ... and this is the cause of their aggressive behavior," he said. The lawmaker said Iran is not an enemy of its Arab neighbors and has never threatened any country, and wants friendly relations with Saudis. Jamali said the problem is that Saudis don't want brotherly relations with Tehran"

Tehran and Riyadh are at odds over various issues, including conflicts in Syria and Yemen. Saudi Arabia severed its Tehran relations in January 2016, using as excuse attacks on its diplomatic premises in Iran by protesters angered over Saudi execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr without due process of law. This is while Iranian officials condemned the attacks and prosecuted the perpetrators. Years of calls by Iranian officials for dialogue with Saudis to resolve differences have fallen on deaf ears in Riyadh.