CNN: Saudi Arabia Condemns U.S. Strikes on Iran, ‘Urges Restraint, De-Escalation’

TRANSCRIPT:

ANDERSON: "I‘m broadcasting from Abu Dhabi, CNN‘s Middle East broadcasting headquarters, a region that has been concerned about the escalation that we are seeing even before these U.S. strikes. We are now getting regional reaction to the U.S. move. Saudi Arabia has condemned the U.S. strikes as, and I quote here, 'a violation of the sovereignty of the Islamic republic of Iran.' The Kingdom‘s statement calls on all parties to exercise restraint and de-escalation. Well, there doesn‘t seem to be any sign of de-escalation based on the fact that we‘ve seen missile strikes from Iran hit multiple sites in Israel just in the last few hours, and Israel exchanging missile strikes on facilities in western Iran. Well, it‘s worth remembering that earlier in the week, the foreign ministers of 20 Arab and Muslim countries, including those here in the Gulf, the UAE, Saudi, for example, and Egypt, in the wider Middle East, releasing a joint statement presenting a unified front, asserting, and I quote, 'the need to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states and the principles of good neighborliness.'"