Iran seeks to bolster ties with Saudi

“Iran’s relations with the regional countries including Saudi Arabia are taking their normal course,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said on Wednesday.

Afkham said, during her weekly press conference: “Naturally, as Iran’s new ambassador to Saudi Arabia takes office, there are some plans so that we may have a new assessment of diplomatic activities.”

She added: “We are optimistic that a new climate will prevail regarding [ties with] Saudi Arabia within the framework of relations with other regional countries.”

The Iranian new Ambassador to Riyadh Hossein Sadeghi submitted his credentials on Sunday to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Iran is seeking to improve its relations with Saudi Arabia and to negotiate on various outstanding issues after three years of controversy over the war in Syria and the Iranian interference in the region.

Chairman of the Expediency Discernment Council of Iran Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani announced, during a meeting with the Saudi Ambassador to Tehran, Abdulrahman bin Gharman Al-Shihri in April, that he is scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia to develop relations between Tehran and Riyadh.

Rafsanjani urged Tehran and Riyadh to coordinate on the region’s issues and the Islamic world, saying “the enemies of Islam rejoice when they see some Muslims disbelieve and kill each other because of false beliefs and ignorance”.