In a rare event, Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud made a rare address to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday. During his speech, the royalty explained his regime's foundational notions.
King Salman also detailed his commitment to the Palestinians and accused Iran of being responsible for the instability of Islam.
Rare U.N. address
According to AP News, the pre-recorded footage of the address reveals that 84-year-old King Salman, who only delivers a few public speeches every year, still holds control over high-level policies despite the massive authority that his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has attained.
Salman's delivery makes him the second Saudi king to have given a speech to the world assembly, preceded only by his brother, late King Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who spoke at the U.N. headquarters in New York in 1957.
Both speeches of the two sibling royalties that were made 63 years apart noted the sacred role that Islam played in Saudi Arabia and how important it was to the people.
Salman said that the people in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia carry the historical responsibility of protecting their Islamic faith from terrorist organizations and extremist groups attempting to undermine it due to their position in the Muslim World.
Referencing the historical background of the Muslim belief that God's word was revealed to Prophet Muhammad about 1,400 years ago in the Mecca caves, Salman said that he spoke from the birthplace of Islam where its revelation was founded.
The king rules a nation that is considered the Arab world's most significant economic power and is the most prominent oil producer worldwide. While the United States shares a close relationship with Saudi Arabia, several U.S. officials worry about future cooperation due to how unpredictable the kingdom's crown prince is.
Reaching out for peace
King Salman said that the kingdom's hands reached out to Iran to achieve peace over several decades but have not been successful. The royalty continued to accuse the Iranian government of taking advantage of international efforts to hide its nuclear weapons projects, as reported by The New York Times.
The Saudi Arabian king noted their kingdom's experience with Iran has been less than peaceful and that the Middle Eastern nation had continuously been threatening international peace and security.
However, the comments contradict those made by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who touted his country as a peace-loving nation that was working towards global cooperation.
According to Aljazeera, spokesman Alireza Miryousefi of Iran's U.N. mission denied the baseless accusations of the Saudi king and said they had no proof of the claims.
The spokesman said that the reckless statements that King Salman made during his U.N. address only show that certain global powers are attempting to create chaos among regional countries to sell more weapons. Experts believe the statement was a reference to the United States and its recent relations with Middle Eastern nations.
King Salman's U.N. speech also marks the first time that observers who had no access to the inner workings of the kingdom saw the royalty's first public statement since coming out of the hospital in late July.
