Prince Saud al-Faisal’s remarks at a news conference with Canadian Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier came after the Pentagon reported that several Iranian boats had approached U.S. warships in the gulf Sunday.
“We are in continuous dangers from any escalation and self restraint is imperative from all the players in the region,” Saud told reporters.
The confrontation, which ended without any shots fired, boosted Arab worries over U.S.-Iranian tensions as President Bush began a Mideast tour. Bush was in Israel on Wednesday and planned to go on to Arab nations on the gulf to discuss strategy for dealing with Iran.
In Israel, Bush said Iran continued to be a “threat to world peace” and warned of “serious consequences” if U.S. Navy ships were attacked.
Saud said that “such incidents might have very dangerous consequences for the world economy and oil prices,” and added that Saudi Arabia was willing to discuss the issue with both Iran and the United States.
“We have relations with Iran and we talk to them, and if we feel there is any danger (in the region) we will talk to them about it,” he said. “We will listen with all ears to what President Bush will raise, and naturally he can raise any issue, and we will discuss that.”
