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News ID: 65212
Publish Date : 24 April 2019 - 21:21

‘Saudi Arabia, UAE Owe Their Existence to Iran’

TEHRAN (Dispatches) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates owe their existence to Iran because it refused to help former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invade the two countries, state TV reported.
"Had it not been for Iran’s rational decision back then not to cooperate with Saddam, there would have been no trace of these countries today,” Rouhani said. "They owe their existence today to Iran.”
Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, which resulted in the seven-month-long Iraqi occupation of the country.
"Before invading Saudi neighbor Kuwait, Saddam had told Iran that Iraq and Iran will be sharing 800 kilometers (497 miles) in border in the Persian Gulf,” Rouhani said.
"This shows that Saddam was seeking to occupy Saudi Arabia, Oman, the Emirates, and Qatar in addition to Kuwait.”