TEHRAN — An Iraqi source has revealed new details about the fifth round of talks conducted between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Baghdad.

The source, who spoke to the Russia Today Arabic network revealed that the meeting was attended by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi; Saeed Iravani, Iran's Deputy Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council; and Khalid bin Ali Al Humaidan, head of the Saudi intelligence service.

The source added that the two sides agreed at the meeting to put an end to the meetings held at the security level and move on to diplomatic talks, which will be conducted by the two countries’ foreign ministries. 

The source stressed that the sixth round of talks is also expected to take place in Iraq, much like the previous rounds. 

The Iraqi source also reiterated that the atmosphere of the meeting was positive and the two sides agreed on some points to create a cool atmosphere between Tehran and Riyadh.

He also said that the meeting between the Iranian-Saudi officials lasted several hours and that the Iranian delegation also made a pilgrimage to the holy shrines in Iraq, but the Saudi delegation left Baghdad later.

In a tweet posted on Saturday, Nour news, a media outlet close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) said, “The fifth round of talks between the high representatives of #Iran and #SaudiArabia was held in Baghdad. The positive atmosphere of the recent meeting has raised hopes for the two countries to take a step towards resumption of relations.”

It continued, “It is expected that a joint meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries will be held in the near future.”

This is the first time that a media outlet close to Iran’s SNSC labels the atmosphere of Tehran-Riyadh talks as “positive.”

Meanwhile, a well-informed diplomatic source confirmed the report while speaking to Russia's Sputnik news agency.

The source confirmed that the fifth round of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia in Baghdad on Thursday was held in a very positive atmosphere. 

In response to a question about the cases raised in the meeting, the source said, “The two delegations talked about most of the issues in the region, as well as the case of bilateral relations and security in the Persian Gulf region.”

The fifth round of Iran-Saudi talks was scheduled to take place in March, but was delayed following Saudi Arabia's mass execution of 81 citizens, about half of them Shias.