Saudis Ready for Resumption of Reconciliation Talks with Iran: VP
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – An Iranian vice president gave details of his talks with the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia in Brazil, saying the kingdom has expressed readiness for the resumption of negotiations on rapprochement with Iran.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet session in Tehran on Wednesday, Iran’s Vice President for Parliamentary Affairs Mohammad Hosseini said he has held extensive talks with the Saudi foreign minister as they attended the inauguration of incoming Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Hosseini said the top Saudi diplomat patiently listened to his remarks and expressed his own views as well.
He noted that the main topic of the talks was the fate of the negotiations between Iran and Saudi Arabia which have started with Iraqi mediation.
“They (Saudis) voiced their readiness for the resumption of talks (with Iran),” Hosseini stated.
He noted that the foreign minister of Saudi Arabia welcomed the idea of holding a series of meetings to address the differences and concerns in order to reach a conclusion.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (of Iran) is pursuing the case and has taken a series of measures. Iran and Saudi Arabia are two major and influential countries in the region that cooperate in various spheres, such as pilgrimage and tourism,” he added.
Pointing to the large number of Iranians making the Hajj pilgrimage each year and stressing the need for closer cooperation between Tehran and Riyadh, Hosseini said both countries emphasize the importance of re-establishment of ties.
Representatives of Iran and Saudi Arabia have held several rounds of talks in Baghdad during the past year.
Diplomatic relations between Tehran and Riyadh soured following the January 2016 execution of Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, an outspoken critic of the Saudi monarchy, in Saudi Arabia. Riyadh cut ties with Tehran afterwards, responding to attacks by angry protesters on its embassy in the Iranian capital.
Saudi Arabia’s military campaign against Yemen as well as the death of hundreds of Iranian Hajj pilgrims in a deadly crush in Saudi Arabia’s Mina in September 2015 had prepared the ground for the deterioration of tensions between Tehran and Riyadh.