Saudi Arabia Seeks Global Action Against Iran, But Allies Are Wary

Saudi officials to try to hype Iranian threat at UN General Assembly

With many top figures in the international community heading to New York for the UN General Assembly, Saudi officials will be in place with a very concentrated focus on drumming up fights against Iran.

This is going to mean trying to convince everyone that Iran attacked the Saudi oil refineries earlier this month, something that the Saudis have yet to prove, but continue to insist is undeniable fact.

Other nations are very skeptical about signing on to this narrative, particularly with the Saudis, and at least some US officials, angling to turn this into a global anti-Iran coalition that’s going to confront them in some grand, and likely costly, way.

The facts of the situation are only one aspect of this, however, as the Saudis are likely to also push the idea that the world needs to retaliate in some way against Iran. Any action is going to be perceived by many as just the same old escalation against Iran that the US and Saudis have been doing for decades.

In recent years, Saudi visits to the UN General Assembly have been focusing on trying to avoid any culpability for their many, many war crimes in Yemen. This year, it seems that’s probably not going to be a major topic, with those having a problem with the Saudi war likely to focus on preventing them from starting another, bigger war against Iran.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.