Amir Abdollahian pushes for reopening embassies in Tehran and Riyadh

June 27, 2022 - 22:19

TEHRAN - The Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has stressed that Tehran supports moves aimed at reopening the Saudi and Iranian embassies in the capitals of the two regional powerhouses.

Amir Abdollahian made the comments at a meeting late on Sunday with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, who came directly from Riyadh to Tehran earlier in the day.

Amir Abdollahian and Al-Kadhimi also talked about topics of shared interest and current events in the region. They also mulled over the expansion of bilateral ties.

Iran's senior diplomat commended Iraq's helpful role in easing tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia during the meeting.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran does not want anything but good for the region and supports the reopening of embassies in the capital of the two countries,” he noted.

The Saudi monarchy was keeping a combative foreign policy with the Islamic Republic, particularly during the presidency of Donald Trump, with whom the Saudis had strong connections.

Since last year, though, the kingdom seems to have altered course and is now negotiating with Iran in the Iraqi capital to resume diplomatic relations.

The Iranian foreign minister underscored during the meeting that only the region alone could provide a solution to regional issues.

On that point, he highlighted the similarities between Iran and Egypt, whose bilateral relations have soured in recent years, and emphasized that improving ties between Tehran and Cairo would be in the best interests of the region and the Muslim world at large.

Amir Abdollahian also commented on the conflict in Yemen and stated that Iran was in favor of the UN-mediated truce between the Saudi-led war coalition and Yemen’s Ansarullah resistance movement.

He emphasized the importance of removing the economic blockaded on the war-torn country. 

For his part, the prime minister of Iraq said his nation will contribute positively to the region.

Additionally, he emphasized that his country is eager to strengthen connections between Iraq and Iran and asserted that Baghdad is sincere about doing so.