Saudi king says Iraq war benefited Iran

Iran Focus: London, Nov. 28 – King Abdullah Bin-Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud told a London-based Arabic daily that the United States-led war on Iraq benefited Iran’s clerical rulers. Iran Focus

London, Nov. 28 – King Abdullah Bin-Abd-al-Aziz Al Saud told a London-based Arabic daily that the United States-led war on Iraq benefited Iran’s clerical rulers.

“The result of the war in Iraq has been to the benefit of the Iranian regime”, the Saudi King told the daily al-Hayat.

King Abdullah told the paper that Tehran had sent Riyadh several messages, explaining that Iran and Syria were under great international pressure and were heading for crises.

Tehran had reportedly requested Riyadh’s support in the face of U.S. pressure over its suspected nuclear weapons program, support for the insurgency in Iraq, and opposition to the Middle East peace process.

Ali Velayati, a former Iranian Foreign Minister and a close aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei travelled last week to Saudi Arabia to deliver a message from senior Iranian officials to King Abdullah, according to Iran’s state-run press.