The Great Smoky Mountain Journal
Source:
Tuesday, January 01, 2019 02:44 PM
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince: Israel Has Right To Land; Leader Slams Iran's Leadership, Nuke Deal Signals Support For President Trump's Middle East Agenda
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, told The Atlantic that both Israelis and Palestinians "have the right to have their own land" -- a surprising assertion given that many Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, do not have formal diplomatic relations with Israel.
“I believe that each people, anywhere, has a right to live in their peaceful nation," he said. "I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have their own land.”
Prince Mohammed then took aim at Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“Hitler didn’t do what the supreme leader [of Iran] is trying to do," the crown prince told The Atlantic. "Hitler tried to conquer Europe. This is bad. But the supreme leader is trying to conquer the world.
Who
is Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman?
"He is the Hitler of the Middle East."
- Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, on Iran's Supreme
Leader
"He believes he owns the world. They are both evil guys. He is the
Hitler of the Middle East. In the 1920s and 1930s, no one saw Hitler as
a danger. Only a few people. Until it happened."
Asked about the Obama administration's nuclear deal with Iran -- which
President Trump has long lambasted -- the crown prince sided with the
current White House.
“President Obama believed that if he
gave Iran opportunities to open up, it would change,” he said. “But with
a regime based on this ideology, it will not open up soon. Sixty percent
of the Iranian economy is controlled by the Revolutionary Guard. The
economic benefits of the Iran nuclear deal are not going to the people.
“They took $150 billion after the deal — can you please name one housing
project they built with this money? One park? One industrial zone? Can
you name for me the highway that they built? I advise them — please show
us something that you’re building a highway with $150 billion. For Saudi
Arabia, there is a 0.1 percent chance that this deal would work to
change the country. For President Obama it was 50 percent. But even if
there’s a 50 percent chance that it would work, we can’t risk it. The
other 50 percent is war. We have to go to a scenario where there is no
war.”
The families of Americans detained in Iran say the negotiations
surrounding the Iran nuclear deal represents an opportunity; Rich Edson
reports from the State Department.Video
State Department presses Iran to free seven US residents
Prince Mohammed pushed aside his cousin last year to become first in
line to the Saudi throne, and he now controls a vast fortune, a
well-heeled military and the future of a nation in the throes of
sweeping economic and social change.
He is on a mission during his three-week U.S. visit to improve the
perception of his nation in the eyes of Americans, who have viewed Saudi
Arabia warily because of its conservative social mores, unequal
treatment of women and, more recently, deadly military campaign in
Yemen.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
