TEHRAN – Iran’s Foreign Ministry has announced that despite the fact that Saudi Arabia is pressing ahead with its hostile political approach toward Tehran, Iran doesn’t favor “eternally” troubled relations with the Muslim country. 

“We don’t intend to have any problem with our neighbors and Saudi Arabia. Nor do we intend to have no relations with them,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassemi in a press conference in Tehran on Monday. 

Iran and Saudi Arabia have had no diplomatic relations since January 2015 as Riyadh summoned its diplomats from Tehran after its diplomatic posts in the capital Tehran and Mashhad were stormed by an angry mob. 

The attack came as a retaliation for the country executing a prominent Shiite cleric critical of the policies of the House of Saud. 

Disagreements over a hajj crush in Mina during which more than 464 Iranian nationals were killed have further complicated the situation, already strained over the Syrian crisis. 

Mediation efforts by regional and international actors have failed to ease the tension. 

Iran has reiterated that it is open to a détente provided that the Saudi side shifts to a positive political posture. 

“If Saudi Arabia makes serious changes to its behavior toward Iran, and we perceive it, then, it can open the way for other issues,” Qassemi underscored. 

AK/PA