In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia Mohammed bin Salman has called on the international community to impose more severe sanctions against Tehran in order to avoid a military confrontation in the region.
"We must achieve this in order to avoid a military conflict, if we fail to do this, we will probably have a war with Iran in 10-15 years," the prince said.
Recently, the crown prince lashed out at Iran, comparing the country's authorities with Hitler and mentioned the possibility of an arms race in the region if Tehran develops its nuclear program. Commenting on bin Salman’s statement, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi called the Crown Prince a "delusional, naïve person."
Saudi Arabia and Iran have been backing differing sides in a number of regional conflicts — including in Syria and Yemen.
Riyadh has been accusing Tehran of illegally supplying weapons, including missiles, to rebels in Yemen, a claim that has been repeatedly denounced by Iran as baseless.
READ MORE: Iran Accuses US, UK of Attempting to Cover Up Complicity in Yemen War
According to Tasnim news agency, Iran's Revolutionary Guards have denied that Tehran has provided the Houthi movement in Yemen with ballistic missiles.
An ongoing conflict in Yemen between the armed opposition Houthi faction and a Saudi-backed government headed by Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi began in 2015. Hadi requested support from Saudi Arabia in fighting Houthis, but airstrikes carried out by Saudi-led coalition has not brought peace.
