Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that his country is ready to restore official diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia, and that he is ready to send an ambassador to Saudi Arabia tomorrow, “but that depends on the Saudis.”
He added during his speech at the Antalya Diplomatic Forum in Turkey that there is no reason not to resolve differences with Saudi Arabia and restore diplomatic relations with it, but stressed that this depends on Riyadh’s position.
And Ali Rabiei, a spokesman for the Iranian government, confirmed last May that two rounds of negotiations were held with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and he said, “We held two rounds of negotiations with Saudi Arabia between government representatives, and we discussed bilateral and regional issues.” to resolve differences.
In the same month, Iraqi President Barham Salih revealed that his country hosted more than one round of talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran, stressing that these dialogues are in the interest of everyone in the region, and that they are important to convince the various parties to find solutions to their problems.
Saudi Arabia formally severed all diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 after protesters attacked and set its embassy in Tehran on fire in response to the kingdom’s execution of Shiite religious scholar Nimr al-Nimr.
Vienna negotiations
Regarding the Vienna negotiations on the Iranian nuclear file, Zarif said that the negotiations are going well, and he hoped to reach an agreement before the term of President Hassan Rouhani’s government expires in mid-August.
Although he admitted that there are some obstacles, Zarif stressed that the Vienna negotiations had reached their final stages.
And the “Axios” news website quoted a US official as saying that the administration of President Joe Biden wants to conclude a deal to return to the nuclear agreement within 6 weeks, that is, before the new Iranian president takes office.
The US official added that if the agreement is not reached before the formation of a new government in Iran, there will be serious questions about the possibility of achieving the agreement, “because the longer the negotiations continue without a breakthrough, the fewer chances of success.”
The official pointed out that the Iranians said that the elections are not a factor in the negotiations, and therefore matters will not depend on their outcome.