Hostilities between the United States and its Arab allies, on one side, and Iran, on the other side, shaped this year's political landscape in the Middle East and brought the region to the brink of an armed conflict.
Prince Turki Al-Faisal, the former head of Saudi Arabia's intelligence agency, has warned that the possibility of a military conflict in the Middle East persists, even though the escalation of tensions stopped in the past two months.
Prince Turki spoke to reporters on Friday as he visited London to promote an exhibition about his father, the late King Faisal.
“We have seen no signs from Iran that they are pulling back on their very negative and provocative military posturing – not just towards Saudi Arabia – but towards the rest of the countries in the area,” he told Sky News.
“Nobody wants war, that's for sure, because nobody will be a winner in a military conflict. The destruction will be universal.”
Prince Turki, 74, is currently chairing the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies. He was the director of al-Mukhabarat al-A'amah, Saudi Arabia's intelligence agency, from 1977 to 2001, before serving as ambassador to the UK in 2003-2005 and to the US in 2005-2007.
Saudi Arabia, which has aligned itself more closely with the United States since Donald Trump took office, saw tensions increase dramatically in the Persian Gulf this year because of Iran's reluctance to cave in to America's “maximum pressure”…
