Saudi FM blasts proposed Hormuz arrangement as “unprecedented” and “illogical”

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Thursday criticized the emerging agreement between the United States and Iran, saying the Strait of Hormuz was managed “very well and without any problem” before the war. He said shipping moved freely and there were no security or environmental issues, and asked why, after the conflict, a new and unprecedented mechanism should now be imposed on the strait. “It does not make sense,” he said.

Bin Farhan argued that the parties involved should return to the prewar arrangement in the region and “end the story” there. He also said trust in Iran remains very low in Saudi Arabia because Tehran “did not attack only us, but also all the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council,” referring to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman. According to him, that caused “a significant loss of trust.”

The Saudi minister said Riyadh and Tehran had been at the beginning of a process to rebuild relations after a long period of severed ties, but that process has now been set back. “We need to discuss how we can rebuild trust and revive the relationship,” he said.

On normalization with Jerusalem, Bin Farhan said Israel is part of the region and should be part of the regional dialogue, but so should Palestine. He asked whether Israelis are prepared to accept that, and said if they are, “in my view this is a step in the right direction.”