Iran's President: Saudis Should Come Forward to Restore Ties

Saudi Arabia’s moves to cut diplomatic ties with Iran “were not proportionate to the incidents”, Rouhani told FRANCE 24, Le Monde and France Culture during his historic visit to Paris.

President Rouhani and his 120-strong delegation of business leaders and cabinet ministers were in Paris on Wednesday and Thursday. After Italy, France was the last leg of Rouhani’s first foreign trip after the JCPOA took effect on January 16.

He added that the Saudi monarchy was “muddling the game”.

Calling the Saudis “fellow Muslims”, the Iranian President said, “What is certain is that the country that broke off our relations must be the one to try to restore them”.

"We condemned this action. Our responsibility was to find the culprits of the attack. We have found them, we arrested them. They are in prison," said Rouhani.

Tensions ran high between Iran and Saudi Arabia after Riyadh’s execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on January 2, and a subsequent attack by outraged Iranian protesters on the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

Tehran-Washington Issues Not to Be Resolves Overnight

Elsewhere in the interview, he pointed to Iran’s diplomatic ties with the United States, and said, “When you look at Iran and the United States, there are quite a few difficult questions that have been present for the past 30 years. It will be difficult to resolve all of them in a short time”.

“The United States was at the same negotiating table as Iran (during the nuclear talks in Vienna), which was something unimaginable only a few years ago,” Rouhani added.

Assad Government Essential for Uprooting Terrorism

Referring to Iran’s resolve in fighting Takfiri terrorists in Syria and Iraq, President Rouhani said, "The priority is the return to peace, the return of refugees to their homes.”

"Terrorists behead innocents…We must fight, everyone should fight (the Daesh terrorist group)."

In order to be effective in the fight against the Daesh (also known as ISIL) Takfiri group, Rouhani stressed the importance of Assad’s government.

"In the short term, there is no alternative but to support the Syrian army. Without the strength of the (Assad) government, the army cannot effectively fight (the terrorists),” said the Iranian president.

The Syrian military has since mid-October 2015 retaken several areas in the north of the country from Takfiri terrorist groups.

Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with Takfiri terrorists from various groups, including Daesh, currently controlling parts of it.