Wednesday, August 24, 2022

Tehran-Riyadh talks to resume when conditions right in Iraq: Iran envoy

Tehran-Riyadh talks to resume when conditions right in Iraq: Iran envoy

IRNA

A delayed sixth round of talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Baghdad will take place when the conditions are right in Iraq, the Islamic Republic’s ambassador to Kuwait City said in published remarks confirmed by his embassy on Wednesday.

Last year, Tehran and Riyadh launched direct talks in a bid to improve relations, Reuters reported.

Baghdad has hosted five rounds of talks so far, with the last one held in April.

Iran's envoy in Kuwait, Mohammad Irani, told Al Rai newspaper a new round was scheduled last month but was delayed due to the "latest developments in Iraq".

"There is agreement on resuming discussions with a sixth round ... but we must wait for an Iraqi invitation after the current events in Iraq," he said

The ambassador said the talks would aim to reach agreement for a direct meeting between the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran in January 2016 after Iranian protesters, enraged by the Saudi execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, stormed its embassy in Tehran.

The kingdom then pursued a confrontational foreign policy toward Iran, especially during the administration of former U.S. president Donald Trump, with whom the Saudi rulers shared close ties.

Saudi Arabia appears to have recently changed course, showing willingness through diplomatic channels and third parties to mend fences with Tehran and resume bilateral relations.

The two neighbors remain deeply divided over a set of regional issues, mainly the destructive Saudi war on Yemen.

No comments:

Post a Comment