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Iran Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said there were "no problems" in re-establishing relations with Saudi Arabia to maintain regional security and stability.
"From Iran's point of view, we are willing to expand relations with neighboring countries and resume relations with Saudi Arabia," President Rouhani said during a meeting with Oman Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi in Tehran yesterday. .
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (right) shakes hands with Oman Foreign Minister Yusyf bin Alawi in Tehran yesterday Photo: Tehran Times
Rouhani said that all Gulf countries should play an active role in maintaining regional security and stability, and this is why Tehran proposed the Hormuz peace initiative. "We should ensure security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz by expanding cooperation and not allowing foreign interference," the Iranian president said.
Rouhani said that Saudi Arabia's policies in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon did not work, and expressed hope that Riyadh officials would change their view.
At a UN conference in New York last September, Iran announced a regional security initiative called the Hormuz Peace Effort (HOPE). "I want to invite all countries directly related to the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to participate in HOPE," Rouhani told delegates.
Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif in September wrote on Twitter that the initiative requires "dialogue, confidence building, freedom of navigation, energy security, non-aggression and non-intervention".
Saudi Arabia is Iran's major geopolitical rival in the region, as the two nations regularly compete for influence in the Gulf and the Middle East.
Tensions between Iran and the U.S. and its allies, including Saudi Arabia, have escalated since May last year when Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from a 2015 nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions to "cause maximum pressure "on Tehran.
Tensions soared after the Saudi oil plant was raided by cruise missiles and UAVs on September 14. The US accused Iran of being behind the incident, but Tehran denied it.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman said on September 29 that if tensions with Iran continued to increase, the interests of the whole world would be at stake, so he called for a peaceful solution to ease tensions. .
