Latest news with #FaisalBinFarhan
Asharq Al-Awsat
a day ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi, Slovenian FMs Discuss Regional Developments
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah held a phone call with his Slovenian counterpart Tanja Fajon, the Saudi Press Agency reported Wednesday. During the call, they discussed regional developments and their repercussions on the region, SPA said.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi, Italian FMs Discuss Regional Developments
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received on Monday a telephone call from his Italian counterpart Antonio Tajani. They discussed the latest developments in the region and their repercussions.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Middle East countries call for urgent de-escalation after Israel's strikes on Iran
Nations across the Middle East have condemned the Israeli strikes on Iran, calling for urgent de-escalation amid concerns that tit-for-tat retaliation could lead to a wider war with regional fallout. Israel carried out hundreds of strikes across Iran, killing top military and nuclear officials and targeting nuclear facilities – the most serious Israeli attack on Iran ever. Iran responded by launching at least 100 drones and ballistic missiles in Israel's direction, most of which were shot down, according to the Israeli military. Iran has vowed revenge, with the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, threatening 'severe punishment'. The foreign ministries of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries all denounced the Israeli strikes and urged a diplomatic resolution to the conflict. Lebanon and Jordan issued similar statements. Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said the Israeli attacks against Iran 'constitute a clear violation of international laws and norms'. Related: What has Israel hit in Iran and who were the generals and nuclear scientists killed? 'While the Kingdom condemns these heinous attacks, it affirms that the international community and the Security Council bear a great responsibility to immediately halt this aggression,' a statement from the Saudi foreign ministry said. The Saudi foreign minister, Faisal bin Farhan, later called his Iranian counterpart, urging a 'rejection of the use of force'. Though many states in the Middle East, particularly in the Arab Gulf, are historically hostile to Iran and its influence in the region, a fully fledged war between Israel and Iran is not in their interest. Escalation threatened regional fallout, with intercepted Iranian missiles falling in the countryside of southern Syria, schools closing in south Lebanon and Jordanian jets shooting down drones and missiles. In the past, Iran and its proxies' targets have included oil facilities in Saudi Arabia and US military personnel in the Middle East. The US has military bases across the region, including in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the UAE. Iran's ability to disrupt the oil trade, with its control over the strategic strait of Hormuz, could threaten the economic interests of the Gulf states. Iran backs a network of militias across the region, such as the Houthis in Yemen, the popular mobilisation forces in Iraq and Hezbollah in Lebanon, which could all also be involved in an Iranian war with Israel. The militias are a core part of Iran's defence doctrine, a concept it refers to as strategic depth, which relies on its allies and proxies to create layers of defence and deterrence throughout the Middle East. Under the doctrine, an Israeli attack could be met with a missile from neighbouring Lebanon, Yemen or Iraq. Iran's allies, however, have been severely weakened by almost two years of fighting with Israel. Hezbollah, Iran's most important regional proxy, had most of its senior leadership killed in Israeli strikes last autumn and its weapons caches have been confiscated by the Lebanese state. The Iran-backed militias gave no indication on Friday that they would get involved in the Iran-Israel conflict, issuing relatively measured statements in the aftermath of the strikes. Hezbollah condemned the attacks but said the group would not initiate a strike on Israel, while the Houthis said that they 'support Iran's right to defend itself'. Hezbollah and other members of the Iranian axis have been severely battered over the past year of fighting with Israel, as well as by the fall of Iran's ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria. The lukewarm response by Iran's allied militias was a strong contrast to its first attack on Israel in April 2024, when drones and missiles were launched from Lebanon, Iraq and Syria alongside its own. • This article was amended on 14 June 2025. An earlier version incorrectly stated that Bahrain did not join the Gulf Cooperation Council countries in denouncing the Israeli strikes and urging a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.
Asharq Al-Awsat
5 days ago
- Politics
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Saudi FM Holds Separate Phone Talks with Counterparts from Iraq, Greece, Cyprus, and Spain
Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah received a phone call on Saturday from Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein. The two officials discussed regional developments, with a particular focus on the Israeli military operations targeting Iran and their broader regional implications, the Saudi Press Agency said Saturday. The Saudi minister also held separate phone conversations with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis and Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares. Both discussions centered on the latest regional developments and their impact on regional and international security and stability. Additionally, the Saudi minister spoke with Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos. The two sides reviewed the situation in the region and emphasized the importance of de-escalation and the pursuit of diplomatic solutions.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
German foreign minister reroutes to Saudi Arabia on Middle East tour
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul pressed on with his tour of the Middle East on Saturday despite the conflict raging between Israel and Iran, arriving in the Saudi capital Riyadh on a hastily reworked itinerary. Wadephul, who took office last month under the coalition government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, met with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan in Riyadh. Stability in the Middle East following Israeli strikes on Iranian territory and Tehran's retaliatory attacks were likely to dominate the talks, along with the Gaza war. The Gulf states of Saudi Arabia and Oman have strongly condemned Israel's attacks, with Riyadh branding them a clear violation of international law. Oman said they represented "a dangerous and reckless escalation." Originally, Wadephul was to travel from Egypt to Lebanon and reach the Syrian capital Damascus on Saturday. Visits to Jordan and Israel on Sunday were also on the agenda. However, as developments in the Middle East quickly became unpredictable, the minister cancelled his visits to Beirut, Damascus, Amman and Jerusalem. Wadephul planned instead to travel on to Qatar on Saturday evening for a meeting with Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. Qatar is regarded as an important mediator between Israel and the Islamist militia Hamas in the Gaza war.
