Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, has cautioned Iran that patience over attacks on the kingdom and neighbouring Gulf states is running out, urging Tehran to “recalculate” its approach without delay, Al Jazeera reported.
Speaking at a press conference early Thursday, he stressed that Saudi Arabia and its regional partners possess “very significant capacities and capabilities” that could be used if they “choose to do so”. He said the precision of recent strikes suggested they were not spontaneous. “The level of accuracy in some of this targeting – you can see it in our neighbours as well as the kingdom – indicates that this is something that was premeditated, preplanned, preorganised and well thought out,” Prince Faisal said, rejecting Iranian diplomatic denials.
“I’m not going to lay out what would and would not precipitate a defensive action by the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] because I think that is not a wise approach to signal to the Iranians,” he added.
“But I think it’s important for the Iranians to understand that the kingdom, but also its partners who have been attacked and beyond, have very significant capacities and capabilities that they could bring to bear should they choose to do so,” he said.
“The patience that is being exhibited is not unlimited. Do they [the Iranians] have a day, two, a week? I’m not going to telegraph that,” he added.
“I would hope they understand the message of the meeting today and recalculate quickly and stop attacking their neighbours. But I am doubtful they have that wisdom.”
His remarks came after a meeting in Riyadh of foreign ministers from Arab and Islamic nations to address the widening regional conflict. On Wednesday, Iranian strikes targeted Gulf energy infrastructure, including Qatar’s Ras Laffan gas complex and the UAE’s Habshan facility, with reports of significant damage.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry condemned what it described as a “blatant Iranian attack” on Ras Laffan Industrial City, located northeast of Doha and a key hub for liquefied natural gas production, supplying roughly a fifth of global LNG.
Prince Faisal said that while the conflict would eventually end, rebuilding ties with Iran would take far longer, as trust “has completely been shattered” by Tehran’s actions.
“We know for a fact that Iran has been building this strategy over the last decade and beyond,” he said.
“This is not something that is a reaction to an evolving circumstance where Iran is improvising. This has been built into their war planning: targeting their neighbours and using that to try and put pressure on the international community,” he said.
“So when this war eventually ends, in order for there to be any rebuilding of trust, it will take a long time. And I have to tell you, if Iran doesn’t stop … immediately, I think there will be almost nothing that can re-establish that trust,” he added.
Earlier, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had warned that oil and gas installations in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE could face retaliation following an Israeli strike on Iran’s South Pars gas field. Iranian state media said facilities linked to the offshore field in Bushehr province had been hit.
Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry said its air defences intercepted four Iranian ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh and two targeting the country’s eastern region.
In the UAE, defence authorities said 13 ballistic missiles and 27 drones were neutralised. Operations at the Habshan gas facility were halted after debris from intercepted projectiles caused incidents at the site.