19 Mar 2024
Press TV - Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Iran will welcome Saudi Arabia'schange of policy with open arms if it comes to the realization that it cannot buy security though arms purchases and extra-regionalhelp.
We have always said that we seek understanding with our neighbors and we are not after tensions, Zarif told reporters on Wednesday on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting.

If the Saudi government comes to the conclusion that it cannot provide its security through arms purchases and delegating its sovereignty to the others and moves toward [promoting relations with the countries of] the region, it will definitely be met with Irans open arms, he added.
Zarfi made the remarks in response to a question about reports that Saudi Arabia had given the green light to a third country to arrange a meeting with Iran.

This came a day after an Iraqi official said that Saudi Arabia had agreed that Iraqs Prime MinisterAdil Abdul-Mahdi help set the stage for a meeting with Iran.

The Saudis have given the green light in this matter, and Mr. Abdul-Mahdi is working on it, Abbas al-Hasnawi, an official in the Iraqi premiers office, told the Middle East Eye(MEE) news portal on Tuesday.

He said that the Iraqi premier was mediatingbetween the leaderships in Riyadh and Tehran and had communicated each side's conditions for talks to the other.

Last week, Abdul-Mahdi held talks with Saudi officials during a visit to Jeddah. After the trip, the Iraqi premier told Al Jazeera thatSaudi Arabia was looking to de-escalate tensions with Iran.

Meanwhile, earlier this week, the spokesman for Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's administration said that Saudi leaders have been sending messages to Iran's president through a head of state, though refraining to give any details onthe nature of those messages.

Ali Rabiei made the remarks during his weekly press briefing in Tehran on Monday, when he was asked about reports denoting that the Saudi leadership has been sending messages to Iran's chief executive.

Yes, this is true that they have sent messages to Mr. Rouhani through a head of state, Rabiei noted, adding, We must see signs of it [Saudis goodwill] without any ambiguity, and the first sign of it is to stop the aggression against Yemen and put an end to the massacre of Yemenis.

Reiterating that Iran would welcome a genuine change in Saudis behavior, Rabiei noted, If they genuinely sought to change their behavior, we would welcome that.

Meanwhile, Adel al-Jubeir, the kingdoms minister of state for foreign affairs, has denied that Saudi Arabia had sent messages to Irans president through other countries.

The remarks came amid heightened tension between Iran and Saudi Arabia over the latters accusations that Iran was involved in the September 14 air raids on two Aramco installations, which were claimed by Yemens Houthi Ansarullah movement.

Iran has rejected the allegations of any involvement and said the attack was a legitimate act of self-defense by Yemen, which has been under incessant strikes by the Saudi-led coalition since 2015.
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