Contain Iran, Saudi Shura council says

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, March 11 (UPI) -- Arab leaders should adopt a comprehensive strategy to contain Iranian influence in the greater Middle East, the Shura council in Saudi Arabia said.

Noting the acrimonious relationship between Riyadh and Tehran, the government council called for a strategy to address what they described as interference in the region from the Iranian leadership, the London newspaper Asharq al-Awsat reports.

The council's recommendation follows statements by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, who called for Arab solidarity to cope effectively with the "Iranian challenge," the report said.

Council members said Iranian interference in the region was "overt." U.S. and Iraqi leaders have raised repeated concerns that Iran was meddling in Iraqi internal affairs, particularly in the south of the country.

The Shura council also said a unified effort was needed to encourage Iran to abandon any efforts toward a nuclear weapon while persuading Israel to follow suit.

Iran maintains its nuclear program is for civilian energy use, and Israel is considered a de facto weapons state.