Iran Says Open to Settlement of Issues with Saudi Arabia

Mahmoud Vaezi, the Chief of Staff of Iran’s president, says the Islamic Republic is prepared to resolve the outstanding problems with some of its neighbours including Saudi Arabia through dialogue.

“Iran welcomes settlement of problems and issues with some of its neighbours through dialogue,” Vaezi said on Wednesday, stressing that regional issues need to be settled with negotiations participated by regional states.

He made the remarks in reaction to earlier comments by Saudi envoy to the United Nations Abdullah al-Muallemi, who said that his country seeks “diplomatic interactions” with Iran, claiming that there have been contacts between the two countries.

Speaking to reporters after a weekly cabinet session, Vaezi referred to the Saudi envoy’s remarks, and said they are in line with what Iran has always raised.

“In the past few years, Saudi Arabia has taken very harsh policies unlike those of its previous leaders, and they have resulted in the isolation of the Kingdom in the Muslim world, region, and the international public opinion,” he noted, according to a report by the government’s official website dolat.ir.

“We see that the Yemen war, unlike what the Saudis expected, did not end within a few weeks, and has turned into a war of attrition, which has caused great damages to Saudi Arabia’s image and economy,” Vaezi said, adding that Riyadh cannot continue this trend.

“We are ready for the settlement of the issues remaining with one or two of our neighbours through peaceful solutions,” he said, stressing that it will be to the benefit of Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the entire region.

Last week, al-Muallemi said after a meeting of the UN Security Council that Saudi Arabia does not seek war with the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Al-Muallemi said that “Saudi Arabia does not want war with Iran, neither in Yemen and nor anywhere else,” claiming that “it’s time to end the crisis in Yemen.”

The UN envoy also said that his country is ready for “diplomatic engagement” with Iran, adding that the diplomatic relations need common grounds.

The Saudi diplomat also claimed that there were contacts with Iran after the recent Arab summit and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council summit in Mecca.

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