Adel Al-Jubeir Quotes

#1. Daesh members wear shoes. Does this mean everybody who wears shoes is Daesh?

Adel Al-Jubeir

#2. Iran is the only country around the negotiating table that has not been attacked by either al-Qaida or Daesh.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#3. What we want is stability and security so we can focus on our own development. But we have these problems in our region, and nobody has been able to resolve them. The whole world was saying that the countries of the regions should step up and resolve their problems, so we stepped up.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#4. The Iranians know what they need to do in order to become a responsible member of the international community and in order to become a good neighbor, and it's really up to them to change their behavior.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#5. We have no interest in seeing an unstable Yemen or seeing a Yemen that is devastated.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#6. I don't think anyone can predict what the short term will look like. In the long term, it will be a Syria without Bashar Assad. The longer it takes, the worse it will get.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#7. As long as Iran's aggressive policies continue, it's going to be bad for the region. Iran has to decide whether it wants a revolution or a nation-state.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#8. We have always said there are two ways to resolve Syria, and both will end up with the same result: a Syria without Bashar Assad.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#9. Daesh is attacking us. Their leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, wants to destroy the Saudi state. These people are criminals. They're psychopaths.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#10. We have a war against Daesh (the Islamic State, or IS) in Syria. A coalition that was led by the United States, with Saudi Arabia being one of the first members of that coalition.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#11. We expressed our readiness to join the US-led, international coalition against Daesh with special forces. All of this, however, is still in the discussion phase and in the initial planning phase.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#12. Iran has been a neighbor for millenia, and will continue to be a neighbor for millenia. We have no issue with seeking to develop the best terms we can with Iran.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#13. People are saying, "Oh my God, Saudi Arabia has changed." It's a contradiction. Do you want us to lead, or do you want us to play a supporting role?

Adel Al-Jubeir

#14. There is nothing to encourage. The Iranians should just stay away from us.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#15. It seems people don't read or listen. Our scholars and our media have been very outspoken. We were the first country in the world to hold a national public awareness campaign against extremism and terrorism. Why would we not want to fight an ideology whose objective is to kill us?

Adel Al-Jubeir

#16. Show me one Iranian diplomat we killed! I can show you many Saudi diplomats who were killed by Iran.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#17. Just like we respect your legal system, you [europeans] should respect our legal system. You cannot impose your values on us, otherwise the world will become the law of the jungle. Every society decides what its laws are, and it's the people who make decisions with regards to these laws.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#18. Bashar Assad has said many things. We will see in the near term whether he is serious about a political process.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#19. If, as we decided in Munich, there will be a cessation of hostilities and humanitarian assistance can flow into Syria - then this will open the door for the beginning of the political transition process.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#20. We warned when the crisis began in 2011 that unless it was resolved quickly, the country [Syria] would be destroyed. Unfortunately, our warnings are coming true.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#21. Should the political process not work, there is always the other approach.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#22. We have a legal system, and we have a penal code. We have the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, and people should respect this.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#23. You cannot lecture another people about what you think is right or wrong based on your value system unless you're willing to accept others imposing their value system on you.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#24. We want to have good ties with the Iranians, but if they want good ties with us, then I tell them: Don't keep attacking us as you have done for the last years.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#25. We don't tolerate terrorism. We go after the terrorists and those who support them and those who justify their actions.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#26. The Middle East has gone through periods of turmoil before. In the 1950s and 1960s, there were revolutions. When monarchies were collapsing in a number of countries, we had radicals and we had Nasserism. Today it's a little bit more complicated.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#27. We can't do both. If you want us to lead, don't criticize us. And if you want us to play a supporting role, then tell us who is going to lead.

Adel Al-Jubeir

#28. Is Russia worried that defeating Daesh will open the door for defeating Bashar Assad? That would be a different story. But I don't think World War III is going to happen in Syria.

Adel Al-Jubeir