![Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq on 15 January 2019 [Feriq Fereç/Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/20190115_2_34430256_40757231-e1552475329374.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said yesterday that his country is ready to talk with Saudi Arabia if Riyadh “is ready for talks”, local media reported.
“If Saudi Arabia is ready for talks, Iran is always ready for negotiation with neighbours,” Zarif said in statements reported by the official IRNA news agency.
Tehran “is interested in cooperation with neighbours,” he added.
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Zarif’s remarks came following a visit by a military delegation from the UAE, which attended the sixth meeting of coast guards of the two countries.
“We have never closed the door to dialogue with our neighbours and we will never close the door to dialogue with our neighbours,” Zarif said.
The Emirati delegation’s visit came despite recent tensions between Tehran and Abu Dhabi over oil tanker incidents in the Gulf region.