Governmental positions on the Iraq War prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq resolutions 1284 (1999) and 1409 (2002), was the only appropriate model for resolving the conflict between Iraq and the UN. In August 2002 he told the Washington Post that an attempt to invade Iraq would be a "tremendous mistake" and that it could "throw the whole area into turmoil". The Arab League unanimously condemned the war, with the exception of Kuwait. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud publicly claimed that the U.S. military would not be authorized to use Saudi Arabia's soil in any way to attack Iraq. However, this was later revealed to have been a front, as Saudi Arabia,
Iraq–Saudi Arabia relations dissatisfaction with the regime in Baghdad, Crown Prince Abdallah permitted the media to videotape his meeting with some of the opponents of Saddam Hussein. In spite of this, the Saudi leadership opposed the U.S. plan to invade Iraq in 2003 and did not join the Coalition. Their fears and warnings that Iraq would fracture along sectarian and political lines proved accurate. What was worse for Saudi Arabia was the strengthening of the Shi'ites in Iraq, seen as Iran's proxy. This drew the Iranian threat much larger for the Kingdom, forcing them to weaken Iranian influence in Iraq through covertly supporting