Iran ready to expand all-out cooperation with Saudi Arabia: President Pezeshkian

Tehran(The Uttam Hindu): Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met here with visiting Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, calling for expanding cooperation between their two countries in all areas. Pezeshkian said on Thursday that Iran is fully prepared to expand its relations with Saudi Arabia in all fields and extend bilateral cooperation to other Islamic countries, according to a statement published on the website of his office.

He also welcomed the establishment of joint working groups in various political, economic, and security areas, emphasising that Iran and Saudi Arabia could coordinate to resolve many of the problems in the region, without the need for foreign intervention, Xinhua news agency reported. The Saudi Defence Minister, for his part, described his meetings with Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Baqeri earlier on Thursday as "very useful, positive, and constructive".

He called Iran and Saudi Arabia "two main pillars of the region," stressing their strong relations could be an effective model for convergence and synergy in the Muslim world.

"We discussed our bilateral relations and topics of mutual interest," the Saudi Defence Minister wrote on X. "Our belief is that the relationship between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia is beneficial for both countries," Iranian state media cited Khamenei as saying in the meeting on Thursday. "Ties between the Saudi and Iranian armed forces have been improving since the Beijing agreement," Baqeri said after the meeting, according to Iranian state media.

Saudi Arabia has welcomed Iran's nuclear talks with the US, saying it supported efforts to resolve regional and international disputes. Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed in a 2023 deal brokered by China to re-establish relations after years of hostility that had threatened stability and security in the Gulf region and helped fuel conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria.

The Saudi Defence Minister's trip coincided with a visit to Iran by the UN nuclear watchdog chief, Rafael Grossi, who warned that the US and Iran were running out of time to reach a deal. Iranian and US delegations are set to gather in Rome on Saturday for a second round of Omani-mediated negotiations, a week after the longtime foes held their highest-level talks since US President Donald Trump abandoned a landmark nuclear accord during his first term in 2018.

Since re-entering the White House in January, Trump has revived his so-called "maximum pressure" policy, imposing punishing economic sanctions against Iran and threatening military action if Tehran does not agree to a deal. Iran and Saudi Arabia formally declared in April 2023 the resumption of diplomatic relations with immediate effect. Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016 in response to attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran. The attacks followed Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shia cleric.