Iran urges Saudi Arabia's cooperation on regional issues

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif expressed hope that Saudi Arabia would cooperate on regional issues, media reposts said.

"Saudi authorities ought to come to the conclusion that not only for Saudi Arabia, but also for all other countries in the Persian Gulf region, there is no other option than joint cooperation," Zarif was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency on Tuesday.

"For the time being, there is no clear or definite prospect for a change in Iran's relations with Saudi Arabia, but a shift in the kingdom's policies would be welcomed by Iran," he said.

It was announced here on Sunday that a Saudi Arabian delegation would visit Tehran after Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran last year, Xinhua news agency reported.

"The Saudi delegation simply comes to visit diplomatic buildings because the buildings have been empty after the two countries broke off relations. At the same time, we will visit our buildings in Saudi Arabia," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said on Sunday.

Qasemi confirmed that the visas for the Saudis have been issued long before, but for "reasons that are related to them, they have not come yet, and their travel has likely been postponed until after (annual Muslim) Hajj ceremonies".

He added that the date for the Iranian delegation's visit has not been set yet.

Saudi Arabia severed its diplomatic relations with Iran in January 2016, following demonstrations held in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in the northeastern city of Mashhad by angry protesters who set the diplomatic missions ablaze for the execution of top Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr by Saudi Arabia.

--IANS

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