Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan held a phone call to condemn ongoing Iranian strikes as a dangerous escalation. The discussion follows a Saudi Ministry of Defense report stating over 60 drones were intercepted in a single night.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and United Arab Emirates President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan have condemned the ongoing military strikes by Iran against Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations, describing them as "escalatory and dangerous."
The diplomatic exchange comes amid a sustained wave of aerial assaults. According to German state-owned broadcaster DW Persian, the Saudi Ministry of Defense announced on X early Monday, March 16, that it had intercepted and destroyed over 60 drones since midnight. DW Persian noted that the high-level phone call between the two leaders took place as the Islamic Republic's attacks on the two countries continue unabated.
During their telephone conversation, both leaders emphasized that the continued strikes are a "threat to regional security and stability," according to Saudi-owned Al Arabiya Farsi and Iran International, an outlet known for its staunch opposition to the Iranian government.
Citing the Saudi Press Agency, Iran International reported that the leaders stressed GCC countries "will continue to try to defend themselves with all their might and will provide all available resources to support the security of the region and establish its stability." Al Arabiya Farsi echoed this sentiment, affirming that Gulf nations will persist in all efforts to protect their territories against what they deem a "dangerous escalation" by Iran.
Sources uniformly frame the events from the perspective of the Gulf nations and opposition media. 'Iran International' and 'DW Persian' specifically use the politically charged term 'Islamic Republic' rather than 'Iran' to describe the aggressor state, which has been preserved in the English translation to reflect the original editorial tone. The exact nature of the Iranian attacks is primarily detailed through the Saudi Ministry of Defense's claim of intercepting 60 drones.