Iran presidential candidate to restore relations with Saudi Arabia if he wins

Iran’s prominent reformist presidential candidate, Abdolnaser Hemmati, has pledged to normalise relations with Saudi Arabia if he becomes president.

“If I become president, I will normalise political and economic relations with Saudi Arabia because we regret their interruption after extremist militants in Iran attacked their embassy,” Hemmati, who is the former governor of Iran’s Central Bank, said in an exclusive interview with Russia’s Sputnik news agency yesterday.

Hemmati stressed on the importance of the move, saying: “Relations between us as two central members of OPEC are very important… There is another issue as well, which is the Hajj ritual, which is demanded by our dear people in Iran. There is a great need to normalise relations between the two countries more than before.”

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani described Hemmati as an active, strong and good person with valuable experiences in the field of banking and insurance.

One of two reformists approved to run in this week’s Iranian presidential election, Mohsen Mehralizadeh, withdrew his candidacy today, local media reported. Six people are now competing for the post of president in Friday’s election.

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