Trump is “Milking” Saudi Arabia of $480bn: Zarif

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says US President Donald Trump’s recent anti-Tehran remarks were aimed at “milking” Saudi Arabia.

“Iran — fresh from real elections — attacked by @POTUS in that bastion of democracy & moderation. Foreign Policy or simply milking KSA of $480B?” Zarif tweeted on Sunday, according to Press TV.

Zarif was responding to remarks made by Trump during his visit to Saudi Arabia, in which the US president called on all nations to work towards isolating Iran. He further accused Tehran of stoking the fires of sectarian conflict and terror.

 The Iranian foreign minister was referring to a recent arms deal between the US and Saudi Arabia worth almost $110 billion immediately, and set to reach to $350 billion over 10 years, plus a series of other deals. Saudi Arabia is US arms dealers’ most important client and Washington’s number one ally in the Middle East.

Earlier, Zarif, in an editorial for the website of the London-based al-Araby al-Jadeed news network, advised Trump to discuss how to avoid another September 11 terrorist attack with the Saudi hosts in his first official visit abroad.

“(Trump) must enter into dialogue with them about ways to prevent terrorists and Takfiris from continuing to fuel the fire in the region and repeating the likes of the September 11 incident by their sponsors in Western countries,” Zarif wrote.

The minister said the policy line currently being pursued by Saudi rulers is helping “the Iranophobia project, which has been initiated and promoted by the Zionist regime for years.”

“Today, the stable Iran is seeking stability in the entire region because it knows that achieving security at home at the expense of insecurity among neighbors is basically impossible,” he added.

H.M