Iran’s foreign minister expressed hope for an early normalization of his country’s relations with Saudi Arabia, during a visit to Beirut during which he met the leader of the powerful pro-Iranian Hezbollah.
A resumption of diplomatic relations between the two heavyweights in the region, broken since 2016, “would have positive repercussions for the entire region”, underlined during a press conference Hussein Amir-Abdollahian.
A dialogue between Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia had been initiated in Baghdad, but the last meeting dates back to April 2022. The Iranian minister briefly met his Saudi counterpart on the sidelines of a regional meeting in Jordan last December.
“It is important to continue the dialogue. We are ready to normalize our relations”, starting with the reopening of the Iranian consulates in Jeddah (Saudi Arabia) and the Saudi consulates in Mashhad in Iran, added the minister.
However, he felt that the Saudi kingdom “is not yet fully prepared to work […] normalization of relations with the Islamic Republic”.
His statements come as Iran, rocked by a wave of protests, accuses its “enemies” led by the United States of stoking the protests.
In November, Tehran called on Riyadh to change its “unfriendly” behavior and threatened Iran’s neighbours, including Saudi Arabia, with reprisals against any attempt to destabilize the country.
The two countries support rival parties in several conflicts in the region, notably in Yemen. Iran has a dominating influence in Iraq and Lebanon and militarily and politically supports the regime in Syria.
Israeli “threats”
The Iranian minister hailed the ongoing rapprochement between Turkey and Syria, where he is expected on Saturday according to the pro-government Syrian daily Al Watan.
He said he was “happy with the ongoing dialogue between Syria and Turkey” which should “have positive repercussions in the interest of both countries. »
After a break of more than a decade due to the uprising in Syria, where Turkey supports the rebels fighting the regime, the defense ministers of the two countries met last December and those of Foreign Affairs are due to meet soon in Moscow.
The Iranian minister also met with Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who rarely appears in public, with whom he discussed the formation of a new government in Israel, the most right-wing in the history of this country of which Hezbollah is the sworn enemy.
The two men spoke of “threats arising from the formation of the government of extremists and corrupt people” in Israel, according to a Hezbollah statement.
Mr. Abdollahian said he also met the leader of Islamic Jihad, a Palestinian movement close to Iran, Ziad al-Nakhalé.
“The Lebanese and Palestinian resistance is today stronger than ever, and the Zionist entity is going through the most difficult circumstances,” assured the head of Iranian diplomacy.
The diplomat also spoke with Lebanese officials including Prime Minister Najib Mikati.
He renewed Iran’s proposal to supply fuel oil to Lebanon, or else to “rehabilitate” dilapidated power stations “or build new ones”, despite the sanctions imposed on Tehran.
But Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Bouhabib spoke during the press conference of “external pressures and obstacles” that could hinder the Iranian offer, in an allusion to the United States.