Saudi Arabia accused Iran on Tuesday of coveting control of the Muslim world and said dialogue with its Middle Eastern rival was impossible.
The Saudi criticism, made in a television interview by its defense minister, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was unusually blunt and suggested that the strained relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran may worsen, increasing instability in the region.
Saudi Arabia, predominantly Sunni Muslim, and Iran, predominantly Shiite, support opposite sides in the wars in Syria and Yemen and a simmering conflict in Bahrain.
The Saudis are strong allies of the United States. They have been heartened by the Trump administration’s confrontational stance toward the Iranians compared with that of President Barack Obama’s. Read full in NYTimes
