Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: While Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday urged all the Muslims to unite against Israel, the Arab nations have ‘reassured’ Tehran of their neutrality in the ongoing conflict with Tel Aviv, the media reported on Friday.
During their meetings in Doha, Qatar, they emphasized on de-escalation of the conflict amid concerns that regional violence could threaten their oil facilities.
Ministers from Gulf Arab states and Iran are attending a meeting of Asian nations, hosted by Qatar, centering their conversations around de-escalation, the reports said.
The Islamic Republic of Iran launched its largest-ever assault on Israel on Tuesday in what it said was retaliation for Israel’s assassination of senior Hamas and Hezbollah leaders and its operations in Gaza and Lebanon.
Tehran said its attack was over, barring further provocation, but Israel has promised to hit back hard.
US news website Axios, citing Israeli officials, reported on Wednesday that Israel could retaliate by targeting oil production facilities in Iran.
Urgent de-escalation was at the top of the agenda for all discussions taking place at the moment.
Iran has not threatened to attack Gulf oil facilities, but it has warned that if “Israeli supporters” intervene directly, their interests in the region would be targeted.
“The Gulf states think it’s unlikely that Iran will strike their oil facilities, but the Iranians are dropping hints they might from unofficial sources. It’s a tool the Iranians have against the US and the global economy,” Ali Shihabi, a Saudi commentator close to the Royal Court, said.
Top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has had a political rapprochement with Tehran in recent years, which has helped ease regional tensions, but relations remain difficult.
Saudi Arabia has been wary of an Iranian strike on its oil facilities since a 2019 attack on its key refinery at Abqaiq briefly shut down more than 5 percent of the global oil supply. Iran denied involvement.
“The GCC message to the Iranians is, ‘please de-escalate’,” Shihabi said, referring to the Gulf Cooperation Council which is made up of the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, and Kuwait.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking at the event in Doha, said Iran would be ready to respond and warned against “silence” in the face of Israel’s “warmongering.”
“Any type of military attack, terrorist act, or crossing our red lines will be met with a decisive response by our armed forces,” he said.