Saudis say they don't want war, but will defend themselves

Saudis say they don't want war, but will defend themselves
Saudi Arabia does not want war but will not hesitate to defend itself against Iran, a top Saudi diplomat said Sunday amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf after attacks on the kingdom's energy sector.

Adel al-Jubeir, the minister of state for foreign affairs, spoke a week after four oil tankers— two of them Saudi— were targeted in an alleged act of sabotage off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and days after Iran-allied Yemeni rebels claimed a drone attack on a Saudi oil pipeline.

"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia does not want war in the region and does not strive for that... but at the same time, if the other side chooses war, the kingdom will fight this with all force and determination and it will defend itself, its citizens and its interests," al-Jubeir told reporters.

The state-run Saudi news agency reported Sunday that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss regional developments. There was no immediate statement by the State Department about the call.

An English-language Saudi newspaper close to the palace recently published an editorial calling for surgical US airstrikes in retaliation for Iran's alleged involvement in targeting Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure.

The head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Gen. Hossein Salami, was quoted Sunday as saying the US is going to fail in the near future "because they are frustrated and hopeless" and are looking for a way out of the current escalation. His comments were carried by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency.

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