Prince Turki Al-Faisal today came out in strong opposition to terrorism, stating that Muslim countries need to take the lead in fighting terrorism. The former Saudi ambassador also said the Islamic counterterrorism alliance should have been created much earlier.
The Price’s comments come as the Saudi Arabia hosts 18 days of military exercises with 20 members of the alliance, including Pakistan, Sudan, Jordan and neighboring Gulf states. Ministers from the coalition of Muslim-majority countries are scheduled to hold their first meeting in Saudi Arabia sometime in March.
Absent from the coalition are Iran, Syria and Iraq, which are all battling to win back territory controlled by the Daesh.
“The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has expressed publicly that Iran’s interference in the affairs of Arab states is a situation that is unacceptable,” said Prince Turki, who held ambassador posts to the US, the UK and Ireland after a long stint as intelligence chief.
