JEDDAH: During US President Joe Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia, the US and Saudi Arabia agreed on the significance of preventing Iran from “acquiring a nuclear weapon.” According to the statement, Biden reaffirmed the United States’ ongoing commitment to aiding “Saudi Arabia’s security and territorial defence” and assisting the country in acquiring the tools it needs to protect its citizens and territory from foreign threats.
The top Shia and Sunni Muslim nations in the Middle East, Tehran and Riyadh, cut ties in 2016 over their support of opposing factions in proxy battles taking place throughout the region, from Yemen to Syria and other places.
Iran
Iran’s meddling in “the internal affairs of other countries, its support for terrorism through its armed proxies, and Saudi Arabia and the United States warned in the statement that “its attempts to undermine the peace and stability of the region” needed to be further deterred.
Both parties emphasised the significance of ensuring the unhindered flow of business across vital international waterways including the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab. In exchange for relief from economic sanctions, Iran inked an agreement in 2015 with six major powers to restrict its nuclear programme to make it more difficult to develop a weapon.
