Greater Cooperation, Realistic Talks to Benefit Tehran, Riyadh

Iran’s Ambassador to France Ali Ahani believes that prudent and realistic bilateral talks and greater cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia will benefit the two states and the entire region.

A change in the Saudi government’s attitude and approach towards Iran is a prerequisite to holding negotiations and fostering collaborations, he noted, according to a Farsi report by Mizan.

In response to a question on the competition between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the region, he said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran is against adopting any competitive or hostile approaches towards Saudi Arabia.”

Speaking in a meeting with the M.A. students of the Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University at the Iranian Embassy in France, he added, “Iran believes that to protect their interests and those of the entire region, the two states are required to cooperate with each other and hold talks realistically and prudently. This way they can play a very constructive role in resolving the regional crises.”

He added this requires a different attitude and revised approach by the Saudi government towards Tehran.

Ahani further commented on the impacts of the nuclear deal signed between Iran and P5+1 – also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the signatories’ commitments on implementing the JCPOA and Iran’s latest developments in the post-JCPOA era.

He said as per the nuclear deal, the P5+1 is required to be fully committed to implementing the JCPOA.

This is while, he added, efforts are underway by the US government and Congress to wriggle out of their commitments on the deal and hamper its implementation by forcing Europe into upholding their unilateral sanction against Iran.

“The European Union’s endeavors to find an effective legal solution to be able to counter the US unilaterally passed federal laws, which violate other countries’ internal sovereignty, will properly safeguard its interests.”

Expounding on the latest developments in the relations between Tehran and Paris, he said Iran can offer tremendous investment and cooperation opportunities to French companies.

Commenting on the latest conditions in the Middle East and terrorism, as a regional and international threat, the Iranian ambassador noted that fighting terrorism and extremism, primarily, requires getting at and addressing their ideological root causes.

Later in the meeting, he briefed the attendees on issues such as the nature of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program, nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the six world powers, the JCPOA content and latest developments, obstacles and challenges to implementing the JCPOA, Iran’s investment opportunities, Iranian rules and regulations for supporting foreign investors, latest developments in the relations between Iran and France in the post-JCPOA era and the Islamic Republic’s significant role in establishing peace and achieving stability in the region.

At the end of the meeting, Ahani answered some of the students’ questions on the impacts of the US primary sanctions against Iran on the implementation of the JCPOA, the US government’s new approach towards the nuclear deal and latest developments in the Middle East.