DHAHRAN: Saudi Ara­bia’s King Salman on Sunday slammed Iran’s “blatant interference” in regional affairs and criticised the US over Jerusalem as Arab leaders met in the kingdom for an annual gathering.

The 82-year-old monarch dubbed the Arab League meeting the “Jerusalem summit” as he took aim at Was­hington’s decision to transfer its embassy in Israel to the holy city.

Seventeen heads of state from across the Arab world — minus Syrian President Bas­har al-Assad — gathered in the eastern Saudi city of Dhahran for the 29th Arab League summit, which this year comes as world powers face off over Syria and tensions rise between Riyadh and Tehran.

But King Salman avoided any mention of Syria in his address, as a seat marked “Syrian Arab Republic” sat empty in the hall.

Instead the king focused on rivalries with long-time foe Iran — only 160 kilometres across the Gulf from Dha­hran. “We renew our strong condemnation of Iran’s terrorist acts in the Arab region and reject its blatant interference in the affairs of Arab countries,” the king said.

And despite being a stalwart ally of the United States, the ruler also criticised US President Donald Trump’s controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and shift the US emb­assy there. “We reiterate our rejection of the US decision on Jerusalem,” Salman said. “East Jerusalem is an integral part of the Palestinian territories.”

The king said he had named this year’s meeting “the Jerusalem summit so that the entire world knows Palestine and its people remain at the heart of Arab concerns”.

King Salman on Sunday announced a $150 million donation for the maintenance of Islamic heritage in East Jerusalem. Earlier this month, the monarch reiterated the kingdom’s “steadfast stance on the Palestinian issue and the legitimate rig­hts of the Palestinian people to an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital”.

His comments came just days after his son, powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, told reporters during a US tour that Israel also had a “right” to its own state.

Saudi Arabia is pushing for a tough, unified stance agai­nst Iran at the annual gathering of the 22-member Arab League. The two regio­nal titans back opposing sides in a range of hotspots across the Middle East, including Leba­non and Syria and in Saudi Arabia’s southern neighbour Yemen.

Published in Dawn, April 16th, 2018