US And Saudi Arabia Agree To Prevent Iran From Obtaining Nuclear Weapons, Washington Will Facilitate Riyadh's Defense Capability

Defense at Iran's Natanz nuclear facility. (Wikimedia Commons/Hamed Saber)

JAKARTA - The United States and Saudi Arabia agreed on the importance of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, during the visit of US President Joe Biden, a joint statement carried by the Saudi state news agency (SPA) said.

The statement said President Biden also reiterated the United States' continued commitment to supporting "Saudi Arabia's territorial security and defense, facilitating the Kingdom's ability to acquire the necessary capabilities, to defend its people and territory from external threats."

Tehran and Riyadh, the Middle East's leading Shia and Sunni Muslim powers, cut ties in 2016 for supporting opposite sides in proxy wars across the region, from Yemen to Syria and elsewhere.

The statement continued, Saudi Arabia and the United States underlined the need to further prevent Iran's interference in "other countries' internal affairs, its support for terrorism through its armed proxies, and its efforts to destabilize regional security and stability," the statement said.

Next, both sides stressed the importance of maintaining free trade flows through strategic international waterways, such as Bab al-Mandab and the Strait of Hormuz.

In 2015, Iran signed a deal with six major powers to limit its nuclear program to make it harder to acquire weapons in exchange for relief from economic sanctions. Iran says its nuclear program seeks only civilian atomic energy.

In 2018, then-US President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the pact, saying it was not enough to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.

Iran has since stepped up some nuclear activities, putting time running on efforts to return to the deal in talks between Western powers and Tehran in Vienna, Austria.