Saudi Arabia doesn’t want the US troops out of Iraq , this will make the region less safer , Top official says

Shafaq News/ Saudi Arabia doesn't want US troops to leave Iraq and fears that a withdrawal could make the Middle East less safe, the country's Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told CNN on Monday.

Faisal said the American presence in the region played a crucial role in defeating ISIS and was key to preventing the resurgence of the terror group. "The US has proven time and again to be a reliable ally of the Kingdom, and this is also the case with the Trump administration," he told CNN.

"We work very well with President Trump and with the State Department and the Pentagon and we coordinate on issues of regional security," he said. There are around 3,000 US troops currently stationed in Saudi Arabia.

Calls for US troops to withdraw from Iraq have intensified following the killing of the top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in Iraq earlier this month. Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched through Baghdad on Friday calling for US troops to leave. There are roughly 5,000 US troops in Iraq.

Faisal said he believed the US acted in "their own legitimate self-defense" when it struck against Soleimani, and added he agreed with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that the region was safer following Soleimani's death. The Trump administration said at the time the strike was meant to head off an imminent attack on Americans.

However, he said he did not see any change of behavior from Iran following the attacks.

"The statements aren't positive. But we will continue to call on them to behave in a way that can support regional stability," he said.