Rafsanjani cancels Saudi visit

Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who now chairs the State Expediency Council, has called off his visit to Saudi Arabia, his senior aide announced on Sunday.

“Rafsanjani’s visit to Riyadh has been cancelled,” Ghodratollah Alikhani, a senior advisor to Ayatollah Rafsanjani said Sunday.

He further said Rafsanjani condemned the Saudi aggression against Yemen during his meeting with senior Iranian officials on Saturday, and called off his visit to Riyadh in protest at the Saudi aggression against Yemen.

Rafsanjani, who is known to have had very good relations with senior Saudi officials when he was Iran’s president, has voiced deep concern over the ongoing crisis in Yemen, and said the Saudi attack on Yemen means playing with fire.

“Unfortunately, some Arab countries have committed a clear and dangerous mistake by aimlessly bombarding Yemen. In fact, they have started playing with fire,” Rafsanjani said in a meeting with a group of Iranian officials, past and present.

He blasted the Arab countries that have formed an anti-Yemen coalition led by Saudi Arabia, saying, “They have not taken the slightest measure against the Quds occupying regime [Israel] for over 50 years, but have become united against a regional Muslim country. That is quite regrettable.”

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