Obama to Saudi Arabia: Iran supports terrorism

US President Barack Obama has stepped up anti-Iran rhetoric after Arab leaders backed out of an upcoming Camp David meeting.

In an interview with a Saudi newspaper published on Wednesday, Obama accused Iran of sponsoring terrorism and engaging in dangerous behavior in different countries across the region.

“Iran clearly engages in dangerous and destabilizing behavior in different countries across the region. Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism,” Obama was quoted as saying by the London-based Ashraq Al-Awsat newspaper, which is controlled by Saudi King Salman’s sons.

Obama said Iran “helps prop up the Assad regime [sic] in Syria. It supports Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. It aids the Houthi [fighters] in Yemen. So countries in the region are right to be deeply concerned about Iran’s activities.”

Obama’s remarks come on the eve of the Camp David meeting with leaders and officials of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council.

Several heads of state, including the monarch of Saudi Arabia and the king of Bahrain, are skipping the Camp David meeting on Thursday.

They will be mostly represented by leaders at the next highest level, including crown prince and ministerial levels.

Many believe Obama's comments were meant to comfort some Arab rulers who have shown dismay over what they believe is Washington's efforts to normalize ties with the Islamic Republic.

The meeting was expected to discuss nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 countries -- the US, Britain, Russia, China, France and Germany -- and the crises in Syria and Yemen.

The newspaper also reported that Obama isn't taking the Saudi king’s decision to skip the Camp David meeting too hard.

According to Obama, the main aim of the Camp David meeting is to “further strengthen our close partnerships, including our security cooperation, and to discuss how we can meet common challenges together. That includes working to resolve the conflicts across the Middle East that have taken so many innocent lives and caused so much suffering for the people of the region.”

Iran and the P5+1 –  the US, Britain, France, China, Russia and Germany – are engaged in intense negotiations to work out a comprehensive agreement aimed at ending the longstanding dispute over the Islamic Republic’s civilian nuclear work.

Iran and the P5+1 along with officials from the European Union reached a landmark framework agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program on April 2 in the Swiss lakeside city of Lausanne.

The two sides are set to start drafting a final accord, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which is expected to come until the end of June.

Saudi Arabia and its allies have caused a stir in recent months showing their dismay at the possibility of a final nuclear agreement.

Back in February of this year, Saudi Arabia was accused by a senior European official of fully cooperating with Israel on a host of issues regarding Iran, particularly the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

HDS/GJH

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