Saudi bars Iran from OIC meet on US Mideast peace plan

By IANS | Published: February 3, 2020 09:44 AM2020-02-03T09:44:06+5:302020-02-03T09:55:04+5:30

Iran has lashed out against Saudi Arabia following the latter's decision to bar an Iranian delegation from participating in an emergency Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting, which is aimed at rebuffing the US peace plan for the Middle East, a media report said on Monday.

Saudi bars Iran from OIC meet on US Mideast peace plan | Saudi bars Iran from OIC meet on US Mideast peace plan

Saudi bars Iran from OIC meet on US Mideast peace plan

"After unveiling of the so-called 'deal of the century' by the US President, the Palestinian Authority and Secretary General of the OIC called for an emergency meeting of the body's executive committee to be attended by the member countries' foreign ministers to discuss this issue" on Monday in Jeddah, Press TV quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi as saying here on Sunday.

"However, the government of Saudi Arabia, which is the host to secretariat of the OIC in Jeddah, violated obvious obligations, including the necessity of ensuring free participation of the member countries... and refrained from issuing visas to the Iran delegation, which was to be headed by Deputy Foreign Minister, Hossein Jaberi Ansari," the spokesman added.

He said some OIC members have criticized the Saudi government's move and accused it of "using the body in an inappropriate way to serve its own political interests and goals".

Mousavi added that the Iranian Foreign Ministry has sent an official protest note to the OIC Secretariat where it expressed serious doubt about the Saudi regime's qualification to continue hosting the Secretariat.

On January 28, US President Trump revealed his controversial plan, also known as the "Deal of the Century", calling for a two-state solution while recognizing Jerusalem as Israel's "undivided capital", reports Xinhua news agency.

The US President outlined the 80-page plan, which has been rejected by the Palestin, at the White House along with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying it proposed a "realistic" two-state solution.

Permanent Observer of Palestine to the UN Riyad Mansour said that Trump's plan "will fail".

In an emergency meeting at the Arab League headquarters in Cairo on Saturday, Arab Foreign Ministers unanimously agreed to boycott the US plan and not to cooperate "in any way" with Washington in its implementation.

( With inputs from IANS )

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