Jeddah, Asharq Al-Awsat—Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal has stated that Syrian President Bashar Assad and his regime should have no role in the country’s future.

At a joint press conference in Jeddah with India’s Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid, the long-standing Saudi Foreign Minister said that “it is necessary to give the transitional government more powers in order to enable them managing the country’s affairs, security and stability. The Kingdom considers that it is important for supporting the Syrian opposition representing in the National Alliance which is the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.”

Prince Saud highlighted the need to enable the Syrian opposition to defend itself against the heinous crimes committed by the Syrian regime, and to continue humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering of the Syrian refugees.

More than 94,000 people have been killed since peaceful demonstrations in March 2011 rapidly became open conflict after a regime crackdown.

Concerning Iran, al-Faisal warned against the danger that the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program posed to regional security, and said that Iran should not threaten its neighbors, since countries in the region harbor no ill-intentions towards it.

“Without a doubt, we do not have any goals against Iran, but we hope that Iran shows good-neighborliness and seeks to build close relationships with its neighbors, rather than practicing the language of threat,” Prince Saud Al-Faisal said.

Saudi Arabia announced last week the arrest of 10 more members of an alleged Iranian spy ring.