Saudi FM: Riyadh Willing to Build Good Ties with Tehran
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said his country is keen to boost relations with Iran, but at the same time said promotion of ties between Tehran and Riyadh hinges on the Islamic Republic’s foreign policies.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his German counterpart, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in Berlin on Monday, Jubeir said Riyadh is willing to develop good relations with Tehran.
He said, however, that Iran should change what he called “its hostile policy” in the Middle East region, the London-based Ashraq Al-Awsat newspaper reported.
Iran should avoid “interfering” in the internal affairs of the Persian Gulf littoral states and Arab countries including Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, he asserted, without mentioning his country’s role in the regional countries’ crises.
Commenting on a final nuclear deal reached last month between Iran and six world powers, Al-Jubeir claimed that Tehran’s “consistent refusal” to allow nuclear inspectors to visit some of its military installations proves “its intent to go ahead with the manufacture of nuclear weapons”.
The Saudi foreign minister went on to say that “The Kingdom is closely monitoring Iran’s quest for uranium enrichment.”
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14 reached a conclusion on a lasting nuclear agreement that would terminate all sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear energy program after coming into force.
Iran rejects allegations that its nuclear program has military dimensions and argues that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it is entitled to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Meanwhile, numerous inspections of the country’s nuclear facilities by the IAEA have yielded no evidence that the Iranian nuclear energy program has been diverted toward non-civilian purposes.