Iranian and Saudi panellists spar at Xiangshan Forum over Middle East attacks

A plenary session at a Beijing security conference turned into a heated exchange on Wednesday, when a senior Iranian defence official and a Saudi think tank chief traded accusations over the conflict in the Middle East.

In the city where just a few years ago Iran and Saudi Arabia signed a peace deal, Prince Turki al-Faisal, chairman of the Saudi think tank the King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies, accused Iran of not respecting “the sovereignty of the Arab states”.

In a clear...