Saudi Arabia, Greece voice concern over Iran nuclear program

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister and his Greek counterpart met in Athens on Tuesday and reaffirmed their commitment to efforts to prevent Iran from gaining access to nuclear weapons.

The Saudi foreign minister pointed out that Iran's activities don’t match with what Tehran declares about “the peaceful nature” of its nuclear program.

The visiting Saudi diplomat made the remarks at a joint press conference with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias.

He reiterated Saudi Arabia’s support for international efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, as Tehran and world powers are negotiating over the revival of their nuclear agreement in Vienna.

Prince Faisal said the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia also figured high in the talks. “The Houthi militia poses threat to international navigation, the latest of which was the hijacking of a civilian ship in the Red Sea.” he said.

He drew attention to the danger of the Houthi militia continuing to bet on military options in Yemen. The recent developments in Afghanistan also came up in the talks.

The Greek newspaper Ekathimerini said earlier that the two ministers would discuss developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Gulf region, and review bilateral relations in the fields of defense, economy and investment, as well as cooperation within the framework of international organizations.

The newspaper added that this is the second visit of the Saudi minister to Athens in less than a year, as he had previously participated in the Friendship Forum in February 2021.

Also from the Greek side, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visited Saudi Arabia in October while Defense Minister Nikos Panagiotopoulos visited the Kingdom during last April.