Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee convened to discuss the report of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the establishment of diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, according to the committee’s spokesman, MP Mahmoud Abbaszadeh Meshkini.
Meshkini told the state-run ISNA news agency that Iran “is seeking formal negotiations and expanding relations with its neighbors,” noting that the committee met with the Deputy Foreign Minister and relevant officials to discuss and evaluate diplomatic relations between Iran and neighboring countries, especially Saudi Arabia.
“Given the positions of Saudi officials regarding establishing relations with the Islamic Republic, follow-up continues to remove obstacles,” the deputy noted, stressing that the Kingdom “is one of the most important countries in the region.”
He added that Saudi Arabia “has priorities and interests in some countries in the region,” while Iran “has strategies.”
“There must be consistency between the welfares, desires and demands of the neighbors so that the interests of each party are not harmed when developing relations,” Meshkini underlined.
He continued: “The Islamic Republic does not see an obstacle to the beginning of official negotiations, but those require preliminary consideration at the level of experts.”
“Given the preliminary talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, we hope to establish broad and synergistic relations,” the deputy concluded.
For his part, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said on Saturday that the ongoing talks with Iran would continue, and that a fifth round was expected to be held soon.
In an interview with France 24, Bin Farhan stressed that the past four rounds were “exploratory” and not “substantial”, pointing out that the Kingdom has serious reservations about negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue.
