Saudi-Iran war inevitable in a decade's time unless stringent sanctions are imposed on Iran: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed

Washington: ‘If the international community failed to impose economic and political sanctions on Iran to stop its nuclear program, a war is inevitable between Saudi and Iran in the next 10 to 15 years’, warned Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Crown Prince Mohammed issued this warning while talking to a popular United States daily. Previously, during a meeting with the United States President Donald Trump, the Crown Prince had appealed by saying, ‘The United States should withdraw from the nuclear treaty with Iran. Because this nuclear treaty cannot stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.’

In an interview during his historic United States visit, Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammed targeted the nuclear treaty signed between the western countries and Iran. According to this treaty that was signed during the tenure of the former president Barak Obama, the international sanctions were to be eased in case Iran curtailed its nuclear program. However, Prince Mohammed has claimed that in spite of the sanctions having been eased, the pace of the Iranian nuclear program has not decelerated.

Prince Mohammed thus, insisted that there was a need to tighten the noose of sanctions around Iran to stop their nuclear program. ‘If a war in the Middle East has to be avoided, it is necessary to impose economic and political sanctions on Iran. If Iran is not stopped this way, a military alternative will have to be considered. In that case, a war will be sparked between Saudi and Iran in the next 10 to 15 years’, warned Prince Mohammed.

Because of the liberties given to Iran by the western countries, the Rohani-Khamenei rule in Iran got the opportunity to interfere with other countries in the Middle East, alleged Prince Mohammed. At this time, Crown Prince Mohammed referred to the Yemen conflict and said, ‘If the nuclear treaty was not signed with Iran in 2015, Yemen would not have been torn between the terrorist organisations Houthi and al-Qaeda.’ Thus, Prince Mohammed blamed the nuclear treaty between the western countries and Iran, for the situation in Yemen.

Saudi’s Crown Prince Mohammed claimed in this interview that Saudi was forced into a military interference in Yemen because of the attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The Crown Prince also expressed concern about Iran increasing its influence in Iraq and Syria over the past few years. He criticised the nuclear treaty between Iran and the western countries, in an interview with another daily two days ago too.

‘Iran will have nuclear weapons if there is a delay in withdrawal from the nuclear treaty. This is like knowing that a bullet is going to hit you in the head and while you only keep watching’, said Prince Mohammed while appealing to the United States to withdraw from the nuclear treaty by making such criticism.