The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, revealed that discussions between Tehran and Riyadh months ago achieved "serious progress" regarding Gulf security, as reported by the official news agency IRNA on Thursday. Khatibzadeh stated that the two sides held "good" talks regarding their severed bilateral relations over the past five years. He added, "The progress regarding the security of the Persian Gulf was very serious," according to his statement.
Khatibzadeh confirmed that these discussions have never ceased following the assumption of duties by the new government and stated, "Messages have been exchanged at the appropriate level." He reiterated his country's position that regional affairs and relations among its countries should occur within a regional framework without international interference. He said, "If the government of Saudi Arabia pays serious attention to the message of the Islamic Republic of Iran that the solution to the region's problems lies within the region itself... then we can have a stable and good relationship between the two important countries in the region, Iran and Saudi Arabia."
Saudi and Iranian officials have conducted rounds of talks over the past months in Baghdad, which were revealed for the first time in April. However, Saudi Arabia expresses concern over Iran's regional influence, accusing it of "interference" in Arab countries like Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon, and is wary of its nuclear program and missile capabilities, according to AFP. Khatibzadeh's remarks came from New York, where he is with the Iranian delegation participating in the United Nations General Assembly meetings.
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz expressed in his speech before the General Assembly on Wednesday his hope that talks with Iran would lead to "concrete results." In his address delivered via video link, King Salman stated, "Iran is a neighboring country, and we hope our preliminary discussions with it will lead to tangible outcomes to build trust and pave the way for our people's aspirations to establish cooperative relations based on adherence to the principles and decisions of international legitimacy, respect for sovereignty, and non-interference in internal affairs."
He urged Tehran to "stop all forms of support" for armed groups close to it in the region and emphasized the importance of "making the Middle East free of all weapons of mass destruction."
