Saudi deputy crown prince’s rare media appearance sparks Twitter reax

In a rare press conference, Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Crown Prince and Defense Minister Mohammed bin Salman told reporters on Monday that a newly-announced 34-state Islamic military coalition led by the kingdom would “coordinate efforts to fight terrorism” in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Egypt and Afghanistan.

“There will be international coordination with major powers and international organizations ... in terms of operations in Syria and Iraq. We can’t undertake these operations without coordinating with legitimacy in this place and the international community,” Prince Mohammed said.

Asked if the new alliance would focus just on ISIS, the deputy crown prince said it would confront not only that group but “any terrorist organization that appears in front of us.”

أصبحنا وأصبح الملك للواحد الأحد ... اللهم احفظ بلادنا و جميع بلاد المسلمين #التحالف_الاسلامي_العسكري pic.twitter.com/sWWkcG3czQ

— م. عبدالله الحمادي (@BuHazae) December 15, 2015

في عهد سلمان الحزم والعزم بدأها بتحالف عربي لإعادة الهيبة العربية واليوم يعلن تشكيل #التحالف_الإسلامي_العسكري لتوحيد الأمة الإسلامية من جديد

— مبارك بن مشل (@BinMishal) December 15, 2015

TRANSLATION: They started a coalition first that unified the Arab world. Now this coalition unifies the Islamic world.