29 Mar 2024
Monday 6 June 2016 - 18:18
Story Code : 217324

Spokesman: No diplomatic talks held with Saudi government on deadlock

Tehran, June 6, IRNA Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said on Monday that no diplomatic talks were held with Saudi government over the deadlock which led the two governments to strained relations.

Speaking to domestic and foreign reporters in his weekly press briefing, he said that the Iranian and Saudi nationals may contact each other on the sidelines of international conferences, but, they do not fall in the context of diplomatic talks.

'We have not severed ties with Saudi Arabia but the Saudi government broke diplomatic ties with Iran and there is no ban on contact with Saudi nationals,' Ansari said.

Asked whether Iran would convey grievances to Saudi government through the Jeddah-based Organization of the Islamic Cooperation to require the Saudi government to respect international cooperation in the campaign against terrorism, Jaberi Ansari said that unfortunately the Saudi government conducts the OIC in a way the international organization is an office affiliated to Saudi foreign ministry.

He said that the Saudi government is responsible for negligence in the case of tragedy of Hajj and the deaths caused by roadblocks in Mecca last year.
Jaberi Ansari said that Saudi government is responsible for deaths of several hundred Iranian pilgrims in accordance with International Law and Responsibility of the Governments to ensure safety of foreign nationals and should pay damages to the Iranian families who lost their loved ones in Mecca.

Asked about four Iranian diplomats kidnapped by Zionist regime from Beirut in 1982, he said the Iranian diplomats were kidnapped by the Israeli proxy militia in Beirut were handed over to the Zionist regime.

Iran believes that the kidnapped diplomats are at the custody of Zionist regime and Tel Aviv regime is responsible for their safety, he said.

On Afghan peace talks, he said Iran's political stand is based on promoting peace and tranquility in the neighboring countries such as Afghanistan.
On three Iranian islands, he said the islands are inseparable parts of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Political and media hype on the Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf are futile, Ansari said.

Policies adopted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) only exacerbates the situation and never help resolve the issue, he said.

By IRNA
https://theiranproject.com/vdciryar5t1azp2.ilct.html
Your Name
Your Email Address