Publish Date: 19 March 2023 - 16:08

Tehran, IRNA – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has said that he will meet with his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud soon, noting that two sides have agreed that technical delegations will visit the embassies and consulates general to re-open them.

Amirabdollahian made the remarks in a press conference with journalists on Sunday.

Referring to the political ties with the neighboring states, Amirabdollahian highlighted that in the middle of this Iranian year of 1401 (which ends on March 20), the ties of the two neighboring countries of the UAE and Kuwait with the Islamic Republic of Iran were enhanced to the level of ambassadors, and in the past days, Iran and Saudi Arabia returned their relations to normalcy.

Iran and Saudi Arabia had held five rounds of security talks in Baghdad, and during Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's trip to Beijing, the President of China had already proposed an initiative, which had been approved by the heads of state of Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Referring to the negotiations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Amirabdollahian said that the Saudi side stressed the need for a round of high-level security negotiations between the two states, so as a result, the person introduced by the Saudi side and the counterpart of Rear Admiral Shamkhani and a team consisting of security departments, the military and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs accompanied Shamkhani and his Saudi counterpart in the talks.

Iran's top diplomat emphasized he will meet the Saudi Foreign Minister soon, adding that until now they have agreed that the technical delegations from the two sides will visit the embassies and consulates general and provide practical preparations for the reopening of the embassies.

The top diplomat further said about the recent regional trips of Admiral Shamkhani, who headed the talks with Saudi Arabia in Beijing, that the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) and other apparatuses who are involved in foreign policy-related issues coordinate their efforts with the foreign ministry.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the foreign minister said that Iran considers the issue of Yemen to be completely an issue related to the Yemenis, adding that this is an issue that the Yemeni parties should decide on. Of course, the emphasis on peace, stability, and sustainable security in the region has been one of the issues agreed upon by Tehran and Riyadh in these talks.

Regarding the issue of the UAE, Amirabdollahian said that Iran has security issues with the UAE, and always during the visits, "we discussed our security concerns”, including any threats from the Zionist regime posed to Iran from the UAE soil.

Pointing to Shamkhani’s trip to Iraq, he said that threats from the territory of the northern Iraqi region have been posed to the Islamic Republic of Iran since about 4 months ago, and Iran will not tolerate any threat to the country's national security from the territory of neighborly, friendly and brotherly Iraq.

Referring to enhancing ties with Egypt, Jordan, and Bahrain, Amirabdollahian said that the Sultan of Oman during his trip to Manama, the capital of Bahrain, proposed the initiative to return the ties between Iran and Bahrain to normalcy and about two months ago, a preliminary agreement was reached in this way for Iranian and Bahraini technical delegations to visit the embassies of the two states.

He pointed out that Iran sent its technical team to Manama and visited its embassy and diplomatic premises.

Iran’s parliamentary delegation recently traveled to Manama for the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) meeting, he further noted.

The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes the return of normal ties with the neighboring states, Amirabdollahian expressed hope that some of the obstacles that exist between Tehran and Manama would be removed and the two sides could take appropriate steps in this direction as well.

As regards enhancing ties with Egypt, the foreign minister said that on the sidelines of the Baghdad 2 meeting, he had a short conversation with Mr. Sisi, the president of Egypt, after that, through their Interest Section in Cairo, they exchanged information and discussions with some Egyptian officials on how to improve the political relations between Tehran and Cairo.

Iran always considers Egypt an important country in the Arab world and “we welcome” any development and progress in the relations between Tehran and Cairo, he added.

And also, Amirabdollahian noted that a friendly conversation was held with Jordanian King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein on the sidelines of the Baghdad 2 meeting and the two sides reviewed strengthening mutual ties.

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