Ayatollah Raisi has made it clear that he wants better relations with Iran’s neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, whose relations with Iran were severed in 2016 in the wake of the storming of its diplomatic missions.

“As for Saudi Arabia, I say that there is no obstacle to having a dialogue with Saudi Arabia and relations with all countries. We are ready to reopen embassies,” the president-elect said in his first presser after he won the Iran June presidential election.

The remarks came in the midst of Iran-Saudi security talks in Baghdad, which was confirmed by both sides. Security and intelligence officials from both sides sat at the negotiating table in the Iraqi capital to address each other’s concerns. The Yemen war was discussed in detail, while other thorny points of contention, such as Lebanon and Iraq, were also touched on.

The Baghdad talks began in April. Since then, several rounds have been held, and lately, there have been unofficial reports that the venue of talks was moved to Oman. Over the past few weeks, no updates have been given on the latest status of the talks, but Iran hinted at their continuation.

In his last week’s press briefing, government spokesman Ali Rabiei said the talks are still underway, and Iran is even ready to raise the level of its negotiators.

Responding to a question of the Tehran-Riyadh talks, Rabiei once more underlined the importance of regional dialogue from Iran’s perspective. “Regional negotiations are a perennial imperative and so far, we have underlined regional dialogue and talks between the region’s countries. The Islamic Republic of Iran, in line with its principled positions, always wants the peace and security of the Persian Gulf region to be protected by the region’s countries,” he said.

The spokesman elaborated on the ongoing talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia. “Iran-Saudi bilateral talks have been ongoing through proper channels. We are committed to moving ahead with the talks to address all disagreements between the two countries and if there is an agreement on and a need for elevating the level of talks, we have no limits for that,” he continued.

It’s true that this position was expressed by the outgoing administration of Hassan Rouhani, but it’s important to understand that Ayatollah Raisi is the driving force behind Iran’s push to improve ties with the regional players. Had the Raisi team not been supportive of this push, the Rouhani administration would most probably have refrained from voicing readiness to dispatch an ambassador to Saudi Arabia in 24 hours on its way out.

The Raisi team showed its support of improving ties with the Saudis by inviting them to the president-elect inauguration ceremony, which is expected to be held on August 5. Iranian media outlets reported that Saudi Arabia is likely to dispatch a representative to Iran to attend the inauguration. “Due to the resolution of all bilateral disputes, it is possible to announce the improvement of relations between Tehran and Riyadh and the reopening of embassies at any time,” an informed source was quoted by the Etemad Online as saying. The source said the Iran-Saudi talks are ongoing in Arab capitals, and the remaining issues do not pertain to bilateral issues. Instead, the unresolved issues have something to do with Yemen, Lebanon, and Iraq. “The two sides are negotiating a symbolic move at the inauguration ceremony, after which relations will begin,” the source said.

Ayatollah Raisi himself made sure to signal his openness to improving relations with the region’s countries after winning Iran’s presidential election. He spoke on the phone with a number of regional leaders. Most recently, he held a telephone conversation with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman, who has recently paid a vociferous visit to Saudi Arabia.

“Engagement, dialogue, consultation, and brainstorming with neighbors about the important issues of the region are a priority of the thirteenth government,” Raisi told the sultan in their phone conversation.

After years of bitter diplomatic tensions, Iran and Saudi Arabia inching slowly toward a full resumption of diplomatic ties. Iran is ready to do it in a matter of hours, but is Saudi Arabia ready to do the same?

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Speaking to reporters at a weekly press conference on Monday,‌ Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Seyed Abbas Mousavi reacted to a report about recent comments from Iraq’s new Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi who has voiced readiness to mediate between Tehran and Riyadh.

“He (Iraqi PM) has apparently called for the improvement of the atmosphere. Iran had already announced that it looks for dialogue with Saudi Arabia, with or without a mediator,” the spokesman said.

“Whether or not the report is correct, Iran’s arms are open,” Mousavi underlined.

He added that it is still early to say that Saudi Arabia has shifted its stances, adding, “However, we hope that a change in the attitudes would happen, as the regional countries will have no better friend than Iran in the region.”

“We have repeatedly announced that this is our common region, and we are prepared for dialogue to clear up misunderstandings,” he added.

The spokesman also warned regional countries that the US relations would not benefit them at all and is only aimed at the sale of American arms.

Relations between Tehran and Riyadh have strained over the past years after their conflicting views on regional developments, particularly on Yemen and Syria, became more noticeable.

Iranian diplomatic officials have long been urging Saudi authorities to follow the path of sincere benevolence and pay regard for regional nations, saying that under such conditions, Iran will be ready for interaction with Riyadh within the framework of regional and bilateral cooperation.

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In comments on Sunday, Mousavi provided a description of the Saudi government’s move to prevent Iran from participating in the OIC meeting in Jeddah.

“Following the US president’s unveiling of the Zionist plan known as ‘deal of the century’, it was decided – at the suggestion of the Palestinian National Authority and at the invitation of secretary-general of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation – that an extraordinary meeting of the executive committee of the OIC would be held at the level of foreign ministers of the Member States on Monday, February 3, 2020, at the headquarters of the OIC secretariat in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah in order to examine that plan and adopt stances on it.

“Although the secretary-general of the OIC had invited the Islamic Republic of Iran as an active member of the Organization to take part in the Jeddah meeting, the Saudi government – which hosts the Organization’s secretariat in Jeddah – violated the definite commitments as the government hosting this international Organization as well as the plain principles stipulated in the modus operandi of such organizations, such as the necessity of ensuring the free and unrestricted participation of the Member States in all activities of the Organization, and denied the Islamic Republic of Iran’s delegation led by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Jaberi Ansari visa until the final hours before the meeting,” Mousavi added.

“The trend in excluding the delegations representing certain Member States, including the Islamic Republic of Iran, from the OIC’s meetings and conferences held in Jeddah at the OIC secretariat has been intensified by Saudi Arabia over the past months,” the Foreign Ministry’s website quoted him as saying.

“Such an approach adopted by the Saudi government has been deplored by a number of the Member States, which have accused that country (Saudi Arabia) of abusing the privilege of hosting this international Organization and of improper exploitation of the OIC to fulfill its own political interests and objectives,” the Iranian spokesman added.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs submits a formal note of protest to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s secretariat, the contents of which will be also distributed among the Organization’s Member States, highlights Saudi Arabia’s abuse of hosting the Organization’s headquarters in order to obstruct the process of its activities, including by restricting the free participation of the Member States in the Organization’s meetings in Jeddah, particularly on a major subject like Palestine, and declares that the competence of this regime (Saudi Arabia) to continue playing host to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s headquarters has been seriously questioned,” he concluded.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Friday Iran sets no preconditions for talks with its neighbors in the region as he hit back at Saudi Arabia that had urged the Islamic Republic to change its behavior and act “normally” before any dialogue.

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Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told Reuters in an interview in Davos, Switzerland, that any dialogue between the two regional states “is really up to Iran”.

“Many countries have offered to mediate for talks with Iran,” he said.

The prince accused Iran, without evidence, of “furthering its regional agenda through violence”, claiming that the Islamic Republic sought to bring about talks through violence.

“We are glad that the region has avoided any escalation with Iran,” the top diplomat added.

Tensions have been running high in the region after mysterious attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf in June last year and a strike involving drones and cruise missiles on Saudi Arabia’s oil installations.

The US blamed the attacks on Iran but the Islamic Republic denied any role.

Tensions escalated dangerously after a US drone strike assassinated Iran’s top general, Lt. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Jan 3. Iran retaliated by firing a volley of ballistic missiles on US forces based in Iraq five days later.

On Wednesday, a top aide to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed optimism for rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh.

“Saudi Arabia is a Muslim country. We had good relations with Riyadh in the past, now we believe that it is in the region’s interest that the two countries solve their issue,” Mahmoud Vaezi, the presidential chief of staff, said.

“Relations between Iran and its neighbor Saudi Arabia should not become like the ties between Tehran and the United States … Tehran and Riyadh should work together to resolve their problems,” he added.

Vaezi said Tehran and Riyadh exchanged messages even after the kingdom cut ties with the Islamic Republic following attacks on its diplomatic missions in Iran back in 2016.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Past tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia in recent days have been replaced by positive signals for engagement and negotiation; the signs are evident in the speeches and statements of the Tehran-Riyadh’s officials.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Pakistan’s top diplomat said Prime Minister Imran Khan will travel to Iran’s capital Tehran on Saturday before heading to Saudi Arabia to try and ease tensions between the two Persian Gulf countries.

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Khan, who was on an official visit to China, returned to Pakistan on Wednesday to finalize his future trips to Tehran and Riyadh. Mehr quoted Pakistani media as saying.

Sources have said the visit to Tehran will take place upon a request from officials in Riyadh.

The Pakistani prime minister is likely to travel to Iran and Saudi Arabia until next week.

The media did not give details.

Earlier, Khan had said that he was making an effort to mediate between Tehran and Riyadh. Last month, he held talks with Saudi Arabia’s leaders in Riyadh. After that he held one with President Rouhani of Iran on the sidelines of the annual United Nations conference in New York.

The Pakistani prime minister visited Iran in May 2019. He has also traveled to Saudi Arabia five times.

PA/PA

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