Saudi Arabia not seeking escalation

Saudi Arabia′s deputy crown prince and its defence minister, Muhammad bin Salman, asserted on Monday in interview with the Economist that ″whoever is pushing toward direct war is somebody who is not in their right mind... It would be the beginning of a major catastrophe in the region, and it will reflect very strongly on the rest of the world. For sure we will not allow any such thing.″

Asked about the consequence of this escalation in regional tension, bin Salman responded:

″What is the relationship between a Saudi citizen who committed a crime in Saudi Arabia, and a decision made by a Saudi court. What has this to do with Iran? If this proves anything it proves that Iran is keen on extending its influence over the countries of the region.″

″Those sentenced were in a court of law with charges related to terrorism and they went through three layers of judicial proceedings. They had the right to hire an attorney... The court doors were also open for any media... and all the proceedings and the judicial texts were made public... The court did not make any distinction between whether or not a person is Shia or Sunni.″    (The Economist)

To read the full interview transcript, please visit The Economist

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