Saudi Arabia: the Anti-terror coalition to fight Iran

The Islamic military coalition to fight terrorism was created under the auspices of Saudi Arabia and it includes some thirty-four countries. This was claimed in a statement released by the Saudi Press Agency - the government's news agency.

Apart from Saudi Arabia, others have entered into the coalition.  In particular, these are Jordan, the UAE, Pakistan, Bahrain, Turkey, Tunisia, Sudan, Somalia, Palestine, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Egypt, Nigeria, and Yemen. Reportedly, more than a dozen Muslim countries, including Indonesia, were in favor of the merger.

Iran and its allies, Syria and Iraq, refused to enter Saudi coalition. Oman has also abstained. It is Saudi Arabia's neighbor, which occupies a position of neutrality in the Saudi conflict with Iran. The real purpose of the new coalition, of course, is not combating terrorism , but using it as a pretext for strengthening Saudi influence in the Muslim world. As the state religion in Saudi Arabia is Wahhabism, a radical branch of Sunni Islam, the effect will be entirely at odds with their stated, formal declaration. The Saudis continue to export radical Islam to other countries.

In addition, it is assumed that the anti-terrorist rhetoric will be used to fight pro-Iranian the Shiite rebel forces: Houthi rebels in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria and Shiite groups throughout the entire Middle East