Iran’s top diplomat said Wednesday he had “friendly talks” with his Saudi counterpart in Jordan, even as Tehran accuses Riyadh of fueling protests in the Islamic republic in recent weeks. Jordan hosted a “Baghdad II” regional summit on Tuesday aimed at defusing tensions, which brought together key Middle Eastern and international players, including Iran and Saudi Arabia, two rival countries that severed ties in 2016.
“On the sidelines of the meeting I got to have a friendly chat with some of my counterparts, including the foreign ministers of Oman, Qatar, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a message in Arabic. on social media. “The Saudi minister assured me of his country’s willingness to continue the dialogue with Iran,” he added.
Protests have rocked Iran since the September 16 death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman, after her arrest in Tehran by police. Since then, hundreds have been killed, thousands arrested, and two 23-year-old men have been hanged.
Iran accused its US-led “enemies” of fueling the protests. Officials also emphasized the Saudi role in funding “hostile” Persian-language media abroad. In November, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani called on Saudi Arabia to change its “hostile” behavior. Intelligence Minister Esmail Khatib had threatened Iran’s neighbors, including Saudi Arabia, with reprisals against any attempts to destabilize the country.
Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran severed ties seven years ago after protesters in the Islamic Republic attacked Saudi diplomatic missions following the execution in Riyadh of a prominent Shia cleric, Nimr al-Nimr. Since April 2021, however, Iraq has hosted a series of meetings between security officials from the two rival powers. Talks have stalled in recent months, and no meetings have been publicly announced since April 2022. The two countries are backing rival sides in several conflicts in the region, including in Yemen, where Riyadh has led a government-supporting military intervention while the ‘Iran backs the Shia rebels who control the capital Sanaa and much of the north.
Iran’s top diplomat said Wednesday he had “friendly talks” with his Saudi counterpart in Jordan, despite Tehran accusing Riyadh of fomenting protests in the Islamic republic in recent weeks. Jordan hosted a ‘Baghdad II’ regional summit on Tuesday aimed at defusing regional tensions, which…
