Lebanese Druze leader urges Saudis, Iranians to talk

BEIRUT (AP) — Leading Lebanese politician Walid Jumblatt called on Saudi Arabia to have a dialogue with Iran in order to reduce regional tensions Saturday.

Druze leader Walid Jumblatt tweeted that the modernization of the kingdom led by the powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman cannot be successful as long as the war in Yemen continues.

“Out of keenness for the Kingdom and the Yemeni people, there is a need for reconciliation or compromise. There is no shame in having talks with the Islamic Republic to arrange this settlement away from useless personal attacks from here and there. Peace and reconciliation must prevail between the two peoples,” Jumblatt wrote on Twitter in a series of posts, according to Lebanese media reports.

Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia and predominantly Shiite Iran are fighting proxy wars in the Middle East.

Jumblatt, one of Lebanon’s political heavyweights and the country’s most prominent Druze leader, made a similar call earlier this month after the November 4 resignation of Lebanese Prime Minster Saad Hariri in a televised statement read from the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

Hariri’s resignation could adversely affect a country already under huge strain, Jumblatt said then.

“Lebanon is too small and vulnerable to bear the economic and political burden that comes with this resignation,” Jumblatt said on social media. “I will continue to call for dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran.”

Hariri has since returned to Lebanon and put his resignation on hold.

In an interview published Friday in the New York Times, the Saudi crown prince referred to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as the “new Hitler.”

AFP contributed to this report.