Saudi Arabia and other Gulf monarchies could turn a page and build strong relations with Iran if it respects them and stops “meddling” in their affairs, according to Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir.
“If Iran changes its way and its policies, nothing would prevent turning a page and building the best relationship based on good neighborliness, with no meddling in the affairs of others,” he tells reporters in Riyadh.
“There is no need for mediation” in such a case, says Jubeir, whose country severed all links with the Islamic republic in January after crowds attacked the kingdom’s diplomatic missions in Iran.
Smoke rises as Iranian protesters upset over the execution of a Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran, Sunday, January 3, 2016. (Mohammadreza Nadimi/ISNA via AP)
Jubeir says relations with Tehran had deteriorated “due to the sectarian policies” followed by Shiite-dominated Iran and “its support for terrorism and implanting of terrorist cells in the countries of the region”.
“Iran is a neighboring Muslim country that has a great civilization and a friendly people, but the policies followed that the revolution of [Ayatollah Ruhollah] Khomeini have been aggressive,” he says.
Jubeir was speaking after a meeting for Gulf foreign ministers and their counterparts from Jordan and Morocco.
— AFP
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