Iran says 'remarkable progress' made in Saudi Arabia talks
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said significant progress had been made during direct talks in Baghdad between the rival powerhouses.
Iran has made further progress in direct talks with Saudi Arabia, an Iranian official said, after the Saudi king expressed optimism on Wednesday that the negotiations could build confidence between the regional rivals.
The two powerhouses severed relations in 2016 after Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shiite Muslim cleric was met with violent protests at Saudi diplomatic facilities in Iran. Tensions between Shiite Iran and Saudi Arabia’s Sunni monarchy have continued, with the two countries fighting in proxy wars across the Middle East.
The two countries held direct talks earlier this year in Baghdad aimed at easing tensions. The widely reported talks, first reported by the Financial Times, were publicly confirmed by Iraqi President Barham Salih in May and later by Riyadh and Tehran.
“Remarkable progress has been made on the subject of security in the Gulf,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh told Iranian state news agency IRNA on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly summit in New York.
