The Iranian flag is waved in front of the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, on March 1, 2021. REUTERS / Lisi Niesner
Senior Saudi and Iranian officials have held direct talks to try to repair their relations, four years after severing diplomatic ties, the Financial Times reported on Sunday, citing officials briefed on the talks.
The first round of Saudi-Iranian talks took place in Baghdad on April 9, and included discussions on attacks on Saudi Arabia by the Houthi group aligned with Iran in Yemen, the FT report added. , citing one of the officials.
The conversations were positive, the official told FT.
The FT also said a senior Saudi official denied there had been talks with Iran. Pro-Iranian television channel Le Mayadeen in Lebanon and the Unews news agency quoted an Iranian source on Sunday as denying talks with Saudi Arabia.
Saudi authorities did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment and Iranian officials were not immediately available.
The report comes as Washington and Tehran try to reactivate a 2015 nuclear deal that Riyadh had opposed and while the United States is pushing for an end to the Yemeni conflict, seen in the region as a war of representation between Saudi Arabia. and Iran.
Riyadh has called for a nuclear deal with stronger parameters and said the Arab Gulf states should join any negotiations on the deal to make sure it this time addresses Iran’s missile program and its support for regional representatives.
Saudi Arabia and its allies backed the decision by former US President Donald Trump in 2018 to abandon the nuclear deal of world powers and re-impose sanctions on Tehran, which responded by violating several restrictions. to its nuclear activities.
A Saudi Foreign Ministry official told Reuters last week that confidence-building measures could pave the way for broadening talks with the involvement of Gulf Arabs. Read more
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