Saudi FM Jubeir: We would like sanctions against Iran for supporting terror

Saudi Arabia would like to see sanctions on Iran for its support of terrorism and for violating the ballistic missile resolutions of the United Nations, foreign minister Adel al-Jubeir has said.

In an interview to CNBC, Jubeir said that when you combine those three, fixing the nuclear agreement and holding Iran accountable for its support of terrorism and for its ballistic missile program, then I think we have an effective way of dealing with Iran.

On being asked about the ballistic missile launch from Yemen, he said that the missile was Iranian built and was similar to a missile that was launched against the city of Yanbu on July 22.

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“It’s a carrying missile, has a range of over 900 kilometers. It was smuggled into Yemen in parts and then assembled in Yemen we believe by the Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah experts and then it was launched at our city,” said Jubeir.

On the nuclear deal with Iran, he said that it is about fixing a deal that needed to be fixing.

“The nuclear agreement was weak. It has a sunset provision which expires 12 years after the signing of the agreement which lifts the restrictions on how many centrifuges Iran can have. The Iranians theoretically could have 50,000 to 100,000 centrifuges,” he said.

Saudi Arabia Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir speaks at a news conference at the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington, Friday, June 17, 2016. (AP)

Lebanon situation

Answering a question related to Saad Hariri’s resignation, Adel Al Jubeir said that the situation in Lebanon is unfortunate.

“It is a result of Hezbollah’s activities supported by Iran. Hezbollah continues to maintain its militia even though it should hand over its weapons…Hezbollah pretty much hijacked the Lebanese system and Hezbollah has been the instrument that Iran uses to dominate Lebanon,” he said.

He said that the instrument that Iran uses to interfere in Syria with Hamas and with the Houthis.

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“And so we see Hezbollah’s mischief all over the region. Hezbollah has been responsible for smuggling weapons into Bahrain. Hezbollah is involved in criminal activities such as drug dealing and money laundering,” he said adding that the world has to make sure that we designate Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

On the ongoing cases of corruption Jubeir said that the bottom line is money was stolen from the public treasury and that robbed the country of the ability to invest it for the good of its people. “And so of course people have to return the funds that were stolen”, he said.