Arabs hold no grudge against Iran, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Foreign Minister, said here Monday night. He said the Arabs view Iran as a neighboring Muslim country, and therefore they are keen on settling any problems with it through peaceful means. Addressing a press conference here along with Amr Moussa, Arab League Secretary General, Prince Saud categorically stated that the islands of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs in the southern Gulf belong to the United Arab Emirates and all Arab countries support the UAE's stand on the issue, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said. “These islands are the UAE's islands, and the date of their occupation is well known,” Prince Saud said. Prince Saud expressed happiness at the participation of Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian Authority, in the 130th session of the Arab Foreign Ministers meeting here. The foreign minister said Abbas had spoken about the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations and the internal Palestinian situation. Prince Saud said deliberations at the session had reflected the concern of the Arab League's Council about Israeli settlement policy and its impact on the peace process as well as on the safety of the Palestinian territories and their legal status. Prince Saud said disunity among Palestinian factions was a major topic at the deliberations. It was stressed, he said, that it was vital to take a firm stand to end blood shedding. “I have never seen in history that a liberation front has three or four armies with conflicting factions while they are facing the enemy,” he said. He urged the Palestinians, irrespective of ideological or non-ideological justifications, to focus on their cause because the matter is not struggling for power but rather it is how to reach the desired goals by the best possible means as well as having a perfect strategy to reach these goals. Prince Saud said the Council had reviewed other topics including the situation in Iraq, Sudan and Somalia as well as the dangers of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction on Arab national security, in addition to international terrorism and other topics pertaining to joint Arab work. __
