‘Iran, Saudi Arabia can’t seek each other’s exclusion as two Mideast powers’

Kamal Kharrazi, who currently heads Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, delivered a speech at a research conference in Doha organized by the institution under his watch and Al Jazeera Centre for Studies and the Council on Foreign Relations, themed on, “The Arabs and Iran: A Dialogue about the Region’s Crises.”

He said Iran attaches great importance to improving the relationship with the Saudi Arabia, which hosts the Muslims’ qiblah and two of Islam’s most revered sanctuaries.

“The views of Iran and Saudi Arabia toward one another cannot be that of exclusion. As the region’s two major powers, they can complement each other’s capacities to ensure the establishment of peace and stability in the region and its development,” he added.

Kharrazi also emphasized the significance of dialog among Iran and regional Arab nations as the sole way to resolve the misunderstandings that have brought about conflicts and crises in the region.

The ex-foreign minister highlighted the crisis in war-torn Yemen as one of the main concerns in the region and said Iran has always maintained that there is no military solution to the conflict there.

He reaffirmed Iran’s position on the need to end the Saudi-led war and siege against Yemen, efforts to set the stage for intra-Yemeni talks and the formation of a government based on its nation’s will.