Ex-Saudi intel chief: ‘Troublemaker’ Israel is greater threat to regional stability than Iran

Saudi Arabia’s former intelligence chief says Israel has become a greater threat to regional stability than Iran.

Asked which is a greater threat to regional stability during an onstage interview at the Milken Institute’s Middle East and Africa Summit in Abu Dhabi yesterday, Saudi Prince Turki Al Faisal responds, “For the moment, definitely it is Israel.”

“We’ve seen that Iran has been dealt a strong hand by the US,” he says, apparently referencing Washington’s strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities. Prince Turki, who as a prominent member of the Saudi royal family, remains influential in Riyadh even after leaving government.

“Events in Lebanon with the diminishing of Hezbollah and the change of the regime in Syria have obviously affected Iran’s ability to affect and influence events in the broader Middle East,” he continues.

“Israel is feeling its oats by bombing Syria on almost a daily basis, continuing to bomb Palestinians — whether in Gaza or the West Bank and also in Lebanon, where there’s supposed to be a ceasefire,” Prince Turki says.

“That is definitely not a harbinger of peace in our part of the world. In my view, it is Israel now that is the troublemaker and should be reigned in,” he says.

His comments further highlight how far Riyadh apparently remains from normalizing relations with Israel, and point to a broader anxiety in the region with Israel’s military actions.