Zarif Accuses Saudi Arabia of Not Wanting Equal Relations with Iran

Iran’s Foreign Minister says Tehran is ready to establish good relations with Riyadh but claims that “the Saudi government has not wanted to have equal relations with Iran”.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, who traveled to Moscow, said on July 22 at a press conference that having good relations with neighboring countries is “among the priorities of Iran’s foreign policy”.

According to him, Iran seeks relations based on “mutual respect, attention to each other’s interests and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs” with both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Following an attack on Saudi diplomatic facilities in Tehran and Mashhad, Saudi Arabia severed its diplomatic relations with Iran in December 2015, and since then, relations between the two countries have been constantly tense.

These tensions reached their peak following drone attacks on Abqaiq oil facilities and Khurais oil field in central Saudi Arabia. The United States and Saudi Arabia pointed the finger of blame at Iran, but Tehran officials rejected the claim.

Nevertheless, Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, told Reuters on February 21 of last year that Riyadh is ready for talks with the Islamic Republic “but this matter actually depends on Iran”.

He added that the Islamic Republic must accept that “it can no longer pursue its demands in the region through violence”.

Source: Radio Farda