Saudi diplomat says Iran 'playing games' in regional talks
Abdallah Al-Mouallimi's comments came as Jordanian state news outlets reported on a "security dialogue" between the two countries in Amman.
As Saudi Arabia and Iran held talks in Amman aimed at easing tensions between the regional rivals, a Saudi diplomat accused Tehran on Monday of “playing games” in negotiations with Riyadh.
According to Jordan’s state news agency Petra, Saudi Arabia and Iran took part in a “security dialogue” hosted in the Jordanian capital by the Arab Institute for Security Studies. The talks, which covered Iran’s nuclear program and wrapped up on Monday, took place in “an atmosphere of mutual respect,” the report cites the institute’s head, Ayman Khalil, as saying.
The two regional 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, including in Yemen and Syria.
Saudi Arabia and Iran held direct talks earlier this year in Baghdad, as publicly confirmed by Iraqi President Barham Salih in May and later by Riyadh and Tehran. In September, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said that “remarkable progress” had been made in resolving the tensions.
