Ministry: No New Development in Saudi Talks
TEHRAN -- Iran’s foreign ministry says there has been “no new development” since April in talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, shortly after a lawmaker said top diplomats of the rival countries would meet soon.
Earlier, an Iranian lawmaker told the Fars news agency that Iran’s Hussein Amir-Abdollahian would soon meet his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan in Iraq to discuss issues such as the reopening of embassies and the Yemen crisis.
When asked about the meeting, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said: “No new developments have taken place since the last round of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Iraq.”
“There are a number of issues on the agenda such as how the talks will continue and at which level,” Khatibzadeh said.
Saudi Arabia and Iran started direct talks last year to try to ease tensions.
A fifth round of talks between the two countries was held in April in Baghdad, which Tehran described as “positive”.
Riyadh severed ties with Tehran in 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in the Iranian capital following the execution of an eminent Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia.