Amid rising tensions in the Persian Gulf region, Saudi Arabia has called on tens of Arab and Muslim states represented in three summits in Mecca to confront Iran's interventions in the region, while a senior Saudi official says Riyadh does not want a war with Iran.
In the meantime, Iran has ruled out accusations about intervention in the affairs of regional counties.
On the same day, after Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's defiant rejection of negotiations with America on Wednesday, President Donald Trump told reporters in the White House Iran wants an agreement with America. He added that Iran has become weaker because of sanctions.
Mecca hosts an emergency meeting of ,"the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), an Arab League summit, both on Thursday May 30, and an Islamic Cooperation Council (ICC) summit on Friday.
Iran is represented in the GCC and ICC meetings, and it was the head of the Iranian delegation, Reza Najafi, a Foreign Ministry director-general who responded to the accusations when Saudi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf said Wednesday night at a meeting of ICC foreign ministers that "Tehran's support for the Houthi rebels in Yemen is an example of Iran's intervention in other regional countries," and called on Islamic countries to denounce Tehran's behavior.
Previously, Riyadh accused Tehran of ordering the Houthi drone strikes on the Saudi oil assets, but Tehran has denied involvement in the attacks.
Meanwhile, as the Saudi king is hosting emergency summits of Gulf and Arab leaders in the holy city of Mecca to discuss growing tensions, his Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, has told the BBC that his country does not want war with Iran, but will not tolerate what it considers hostile Iranian activity in the Middle East.
The French news agency AFP says amid rising concerns about the stability of the region, Saudi Arabia has been trying to encourage the participants at the three meetings, including 57 ICC member states to push Iran into further isolation. Arab League has 22 members and the GCC members include Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Oman.
Saudi officials have accused Iran of being involved in the attacks on shipping in the Sea of Oman including two Saudi vessels in recent weeks. U.S. officials have also said that the attacks are likely to have been carried out by Iran.
Abbas Mousavi, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry has rejected the accusations calling them "laughable."
New accusations against Iran came shortly after Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei rejected the idea of negotiations with the United States on Wednesday.
While the United States and some other world powers as well as regional countries such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE want Tehran to stop intervention in the affairs of regional countries and limit its ballistic missile program, as well as updating the international agreement about Iran's nuclear activities, Khamenei said he was prepared only to discuss the nuclear issue, but categorically rejected any talks on Tehran's nuclear ambitions and missile program.
After Khamenei's response, U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday May 30 that Iran wants an agreement with America, while his hawkish National Security Adviser, who is known for his tough statements against the Islamic Republic, said on the same day that Washington does not want a regime change in Iran.
Trump also added that America is prepared for talks with Iran if Iran is ready for negotiations, adding that U.S. sanctions have weakened Iran.
Khamenei may be willing to delay his final decision about discussing these issues at the expense of ruining Iran's economy and its people's livelihood. Currently, U.S. pressures and sanctions against Tehran have led to aa fourfold devaluation of the Iranian currency and an 80 percent reduction in Iran's oil exports in May.