Iran Says Talks With Saudi Arabia Continue
A senior Iranian lawmaker said negotiations between Tehran and Riyadh are already under way.
In a meeting with Italy’s ambassador to Tehran on Saturday, Chairman of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Vahid Jalalzadeh said the talks between Iran and the Saudi officials are going on.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always welcomed the relations based on mutual respect with the neighbors,” he said.
The MP also stressed that constructive relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia would benefit regional peace and stability and serve the interests of the two sides.
Last week, Iran’s ambassador to Iraq hailed an advancement in the negotiations with Saudi Arabia, unveiling plans for the fourth round of talks in Baghdad.
“The negotiations with Saudi Arabia are moving forward,” Iraj Masjedi, hoping that the two sides would obtain definite results.
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.
