Iranian and Saudi panellists spar at Xiangshan Forum over Middle East attacks

A plenary session at a Beijing security conference turned into a heated exchange on Wednesday, when a senior Iranian defence official and a Saudi think tank chief traded accusations over the conflict in the Middle East.In the city where just a few years ago Iran and Saudi Arabia signed a peace deal, Prince Turki al-Faisal, chairman of the Saudi think tank the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies, accused Iran of not respecting “the sovereignty of the Arab states”.In a clear reference to Tehran’s attacks on the US’ Arab allies, Prince Turki told the Xiangshan Forum that this had culminated in “aggressive and unlawful attacks on [the allies’] territories and assets in the recent war”.Brigadier General Mohammad Taghi Osanlou, deputy for operations of the Iran" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="205329" data-entity-type="organization">General Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Iran, swiftly rejected the suggestion of any wrongdoing by Tehran, saying the attacks were aimed at US assets.