23 Jan 2019; MEMO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s Chief of Staff Mahmoud Vaezi yesterday called on Saudi Arabia to work together with Iran to resolve their problems.
Vaezi told reporters that relations between the two states “should not become like the relationship between Tehran and the United States … Tehran and Riyadh should work together to resolve their problems.”
Senior Iranian officials have recently conveyed similar messages on restoring relations with rival Saudi Arabia.
Last Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran was ready for dialogue with Saudi Arabia.
Addressing a meeting with Indian businessmen in Mumbai, Zarif said: “Iran is ready for dialogue with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries and is ready to make proposals in the area of security in the region, especially in the Strait of Hormuz. We have presented initiatives to establish security and peace in the Strait of Hormuz.”
On Sunday, Iranian Parliament Speaker’s Special Aide for International Affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, also confirmed that the coming period will witness an improvement in Iran’s relations with Saudi Arabia and Arab countries.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said yesterday that Iran will never seek to possess nuclear weapons with or without the nuclear agreement, calling on European countries to avoid making the mistake made by the US in violating the nuclear agreement concluded with Tehran in 2015.
