Saudi Arabia Not Ready to Restore Relations with Tehran, Says Iran's Foreign Minister

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has stated that Tehran is determined to restore relations with Saudi Arabia, but it seems that Riyadh is not ready for that, according to Mehr news agency.

“Saudi Arabia is not yet ready to return to normal relations. We have the will to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia. If such intention is observed from Saudi Arabia, the normalization of relations will be quick and accessible,” he said.

According to him, Iran and Saudi Arabia have held five important and positive rounds of negotiations in the capital of Iraq, Baghdad, and the foreign ministers of the two countries believe that the negotiations should continue.

As a first step, as the Iranian Foreign Minister pointed out, the consulates of both sides should be reopened in Iran’s Mashhad and Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah.

The senior Iranian diplomat indicated his brief negotiations with his Saudi counterpart in Amman in December, noting that both sides emphasized that the restoration of relations between Tehran and Riyadh would have a positive impact on both countries and the entire region.