Saudi Arabia Rejects U.N. Security Council Seat

So this is something new. Saudi Arabia refused to take a seat on the United Nations Security Council, an unprecedented move that had several other Arab and Muslim states asking them to reconsider. However, the Qatari government reportedly backed the move, along with the Gulf Cooperation Council (the political and economic federation of Gulf states). Saudi Arabia’s surprise announcement on Friday is apparently in response to what the country sees as the U.N.’s failure to end the war in Syria. Saudi Arabia also reportedly has been angered over increased dialogue between the U.S. and Iran.