Saudi Arabia on Monday called the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers a "flawed agreement", in comments which come ahead of a meeting between Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and U.S. President Donald Trump.
"Our view of the nuclear deal is that it's a flawed agreement," Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir told reporters in Washington, according to the Reuters news agency.
Jubeir called out Iran for what Riyadh has long slammed as Tehran's destabilizing behavior in the region, saying "We've called for tougher policies towards Iran for years.”
"We're looking at ways in which we can push back against Iran's nefarious activities in the region," he added, lambasting Tehran's support for the Houthi militia in Yemen and support for Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad in Syria.
Shiite Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia have a historic rivalry in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia has repeatedly called on Iran to stop its “meddling” in the affairs of the kingdom's neighbors.
Iran has fired back, accusing Saudi Arabia of trying to “drag the entire region into confrontation”.
During the negotiations between Iran and world powers, Saudi Arabia and other major Sunni states expressed concern over a deal which would allow Iran to produce nuclear weapons.
Ultimately, however, Saudi Arabia's government announced that it welcomed the deal.
In October, after President Donald Trump decided not to certify that Tehran is complying with the 2015 nuclear deal, Jubeir said Saudi Arabia supported Trump’s policy on Iran.
The Saudi Crown Prince is scheduled to meet Trump on Tuesday at the White House. He will also see members of the U.S. Congress, some of whom have been critical of the Saudi campaign in Yemen, particularly the humanitarian situation and civilian casualties.