Russia Wants to See Improved Tehran-Riyadh Ties: Official
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A senior Russian official said Monday Moscow wants to see the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia normalized at a time when a coordinated action is required to improve the current situation in the global oil market.
"We all need stability on the oil market and a return to normal (crude) prices," RIA Novosti quoted Zamir Kabulov, a senior official at Russia's Foreign Ministry, as saying on Monday.
"And these are the key nations, especially Saudi Arabia and Iran, which are striving to return to the oil market," he added.
Iranian First Vice-President Eshaq Jahangiri announced on Saturday that the country’s oil exports, which currently stand at 1.3 million barrels per day, will be increased to 2 million bpd within a few months following the inception of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which had been finalized last year, and the removal of anti-Tehran sanctions.
Tensions ran high between Iran and Saudi Arabia in January mainly due to Riyadh’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, and a subsequent attack by outraged Iranian protesters on the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
On January 2, Saudi Arabia executed Sheikh Nimr, among dozens of others. The execution ignited widespread international condemnation, from both political and religious figures.
The next day, furious demonstrators in the Iranian cities of Tehran and Mashhad stormed Saudi Arabia’s diplomatic buildings in protest at the execution of Sheikh Nimr.
Although Iranian officials criticized the embassy attack and police arrested dozens involved, Saudi Arabia cut off diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic.