Iran fired back on Friday, after Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman called Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “the new Hitler of the Middle East”.
The Islamic Republic said the Saudi crown prince was discredited internationally by his “immature” behavior, Reuters reported, citing state television.
“No one in the world and in the international arena gives credit to him because of his immature and weak-minded behavior and remarks,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying.
“Now that he has decided to follow the path of famous regional dictators ... he should think about their fate as well,” added Qasemi.
The Saudi crown prince’s comments came in an interview with The New York Times, published on Thursday.
Iran’s “Supreme Leader is the new Hitler of the Middle East. But we learned from Europe that appeasement doesn’t work. We don’t want the new Hitler in Iran to repeat what happened in Europe in the Middle East,” said Bin Salman.
The back-and-forth comes amid ongoing tensions between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran. The tensions have increased in recent weeks following the resignation of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, who made his resignation announcement from Riyadh and blamed Iran and Hezbollah for his decision.
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly called on Iran to stop its “meddling” in the affairs of the kingdom's neighbors.
Iran has fired back, accusing Saudi Arabia of trying to “drag the entire region into confrontation”.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)