TEHRAN (Dispatches) – Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said on Sunday a proper end to the ongoing war waged by Saudi Arabia and its allies on Yemen can have "positive" effects on the region.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran has for a long time presented a four-point plan to end the war in Yemen," Ayatollah Khamenei said in a meeting with the visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan.
"The end of this war in the proper way can have positive effects on the region," the Leader said.
The Leader also lauded Pakistan’s concern about the establishment of peace and security in the region, noting that West Asia is a "very sensitive and critical" region.
Ayatollah Khamenei expressed regret about the destructive role played by "some regional countries” through their support for terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria and causing war and bloodshed in Yemen.
"We have no motivation for being hostile toward these countries, but they are under the influence of America and act against the Islamic Republic of Iran in line with what America desires.”
The Leader emphasized that the Islamic Republic has never initiated any war, saying, "If someone starts a war against Iran, they will undoubtedly regret it."
During the meeting, which was also attended by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, the Pakistani prime minister said Tehran and Islamabad must further expand relations.
Khan added that his country attaches special importance to relations with Iran as a crucial partner, particularly in the trade sector.
Pakistan will do its utmost to enable talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Khan said earlier, adding that he will travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
"Pakistan does not want conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia...I am happy to facilitate talks between Tehran and Riyadh...I am very hopeful as I had constructive talks with the (Iranian) president,” Khan told a joint news conference with Rouhani.
"Any effort based on goodwill is welcomed ... during the meeting, we agreed that the regional issues can be resolved through diplomacy and through dialogue between countries," Rouhani responded.
The president also said Tehran had found clues as to what happened to an Iranian oil tanker off the Saudi coast on Friday and shared them with Prime Minister Khan.
During his talks with the Pakistani premier, he also expressed Iran’s concerns about security of oil tankers in the regional waters, Rouhani said.
"We provided the Pakistani prime minister with the clues we have found in this regard, and emphasized that we will continue our investigations until achieving a final result and ascertaining the main factors behind the attack on the Iranian oil tanker,” he said.
"It is an absolute mistake for a country to think that it could create insecurity in the region without receiving a response,” the president warned.
Rouhani said he and the Pakistani leader discussed a broad range of issues in their meeting, including the need to boost economic ties between Tehran and Islamabad, security on their border, and activate border markets.
"Iran and Pakistan are two neighboring and friendly countries with deep strategic relations, and both sides insist that these strategic relations should continue strongly,” the president said.
Rouhani said he told Khan that any tension or conflict in the region would only play into the hands of Israel and warned about the occupying regime’s security threats to the region, apparently referring to reports of close cooperation between Tel Aviv and Riyadh.  
"We believe that relying on terrorists, the Zionists and the U.S. will have not result for Muslim countries and regional nations but tension and damage," he said.
"The first step to ease tension in the region is ceasefire in Yemen and the end of attacks against the country's oppressed people; and Iran welcomes any move to that end," Rouhani added.
Apparently referring Saudi leaders’ recent change of tone toward Tehran, the president said, "I also made it clear for Mr. Prime Minister (Khan) that any act of goodwill and appropriate words would receive an appropriate and decent response as well.”
Rouhani also denounced U.S. sanctions against Iran as an act of economic terrorism, saying he and Imran Khan discussed ways to bring the 2015 Iran nuclear deal back to the right track.
"We also emphasized the basic and key point that in order to settle problems, the U.S. must return to the JCPOA and drop sanctions,” Rouhani said.  
Speaking on the sidelines of the 74th session of UN General Assembly in New York, Khan announced that U.S. President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman had both asked him to mediate with Iran.
This is Khan's second visit to Tehran this year amid an escalation in regional tensions.  
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Saturday that the country was prepared to hold talks with Saudi Arabia, with or without mediation.