It was stated that the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia will meet again in Iraq. The meeting is expected to help reduce regional and bilateral tensions between the two countries.
The fifth round of direct bilateral talks between the two countries, launched last year, was held in Baghdad last month. Iranian officials comment that the talks are progressing “positively”.
According to the news in Iran’s semi-official news agency Fars, Iranian parliamentarian Javad Kerim Kuddusi said that the two ministers will meet in Iraq soon. “Iranian Minister Hussein Emir Abdullahiyan and Saudi Arabian Faisal bin Ferhan will soon meet in Iraq to discuss regional issues such as the reopening of embassies and the crisis in Yemen,” Kuddusi said.
While Kuddusi did not share details, the Iranian Foreign Ministry has not yet responded to the Reuters news agency’s questions on the matter.
Saudi Arabia, whose population is mostly Sunni, and Iran, which has a majority of Shiite Muslims, are at odds in the Middle East due to representative wars. The two countries decided to start direct bilateral negotiations last year with the aim of reducing tensions.
The stalemate in Riyadh-Tehran relations has deepened after protests erupted in Iran following the execution of a Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia. During protests in 2016, Iranian protesters attacked the Saudi Arabian Embassy building in Tehran.