Nearly a dozen Arab nations accused Iran on Monday of sponsoring "terrorism" throughout the Middle East while increasing support for jihadist groups since signing the international nuclear deal last summer.
In a letter to the U.N. General Assembly, 11 Middle East and North African countries condemned Iran for continuing "to play a negative role in causing tension and instability in our region" through "expansionist regional policies, flagrant violations of the principle of sovereignty, and constant interference in the internal affairs of Arab States."
They cited Tehran's backing of Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon while also accusing the Islamic Republic of supporting "terrorist groups and cells" in Bahrain, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait, the Associated Press reported.
The Arab nations also charged Iran's religious and political leaders of calling "for the export of its revolution to other countries." They said the only solution for the region would be for Tehran "to comprehensively change its foreign policies and end hostilities."
The letter was signed by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, Sudan, Morocco, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Yemen.
U.N. Watch, a Geneva-based NGO, said the letter was important because it was initiated by Muslim Arab countries, the Times of Israel reported.
"Iran likes to dismiss all criticism of its human rights violations and brutality at home and abroad as part of a western plot, but that's hard to sustain when the accusers are all Muslim governments, including recent allies of Iran like Sudan," U.N. Watch director Hillel Neuer said in a statement.