Kaveh Afrasiabi: Saudi involved in rampant Iranophobia campaign

Press TV has interviewed Kaveh Afrasiabi, author and political scientist from Boston, to get his view on the relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The following is a rough transcription of the interview.

Press TV: Why has Saudi Arabia spoken of Iran in such terms, in the sense that it is blaming Iran for ‘continued aggression’ against the kingdom?

Afrasiabi: I really don’t think that’s a constructive language. And it really shows the extent to which the Saudis are scapegoating Iran for the problems of their own making. If you look at Yemen; if you look at bankrolling the Jihadi terrorists and extremists in the region and the destructive role that they played in Syria over the past four years; and things are unraveling against them right now, with the government in Damascus taking the offensive against the Saudi-backed rebels with much help from Russia and other countries; and the quagmire in Yemen continuing and spilling over inside Saudi Arabia and so on.

And the arrogant Saudi behavior basically reminds me of a thief who steals from his neighbor then files a complaint against him in light of the fact that hundreds of Iranian citizens have been killed or murdered depending on the outcome of investigation recently in Saudi Arabia at the Hajj ceremonies. And there is a lot of evidence that points figure at Saudi officials responsible for that incident. So the Saudis are playing wrong in attacking and criticizing Iran and they should reflect on themselves.

Press TV: Is it just about the Mina tragedy, because Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also said Saudi Arabia is trying to eliminate the Islamic Republic from the region? Is that what Saudi Arabia is trying to do?

Afrasiabi: Unfortunately with the new leadership in Saudi Arabia having a zero-sum approach toward Iran that corroborates the allegation made by Iran’s foreign minister and the reaction that we have seen from the Saudi foreign minister today, in fact, further corroborates that.

So, the Saudis need to rethink their approach toward the regional issues and their relations with Iran, because that’s a very destructive approach that basically does not serve the interest of either side and it only fuels regional instability and chaos. And new leadership in Saudi Arabia may be inexperienced and not completely saddled on power and that could be part of the problem. I really think that the other side of it is this Saudi intense Iranophobia rampant that needs to be controlled and reconsidered.

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