World

Saudi Crown Prince’ “We Can’t Get Rid Of Them” Remark Gets Iran’s Nod

kari waker 3 years ago 2 min read

Tehran: Iranian Foreign Minister on Saturday seemed to welcome recent comments by Prince Crown Saudi Arabia about the relationship between two regional rivals as a sign of “desire” of Riyadh to restore the cutting bond.

“Recent statements about a high-ranking Saudi official showed their desire to build bilateral relations with Iran, and we welcome that,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told the IRNA state news agency.

Prince Crown Saudi Mohammed bin Salman told the Atlantic in an interview published on Thursday that his country and Iran were “neighbors forever”.

“We can’t get rid of them, and they can’t get rid of us,” he said, according to the Transcript issued by the official Saudi press agent.

“So it’s better for both of us to overcome it and look for ways in which we can coexist,” he added, expressing hope that “we can reach a good position for both countries”.

In 2016, the protesters attacked the Saudi diplomatic mission in Iran after the Kingdom executed Shiite scholars who were respected by Nimr al-NIMR. Riyadh responded at that time by cutting the relationship with Tehran.

The two rivals have held four rounds of talks in Iraq since April aims to improve relationships.

“This conversation creates a good atmosphere and brings results, even though it is small, and we are happy that Saudi Arabia has taken the dialogue,” said Iran’s top diplomat.

“We have different views and approaches about several problems in this region, but the management of differences by parties can serve the interests of the two countries,” he added.

Shia-the majority of Iran and the Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia support rival side in several conflict zones throughout the region, including in Syria and Yemen.

Amir-Abdollahian said the solution to the seven-year-old Yemeni war was “political and based on Yemen-Yemeni dialogue, far from foreign interference”.