Senior Saudi and Iranian officials held direct talks in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on January 9, the first direct talks between the two countries since they severed diplomatic ties in January 2016, the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
Sources said that in the dialogue, the two sides talked about Yemen’s Houthi forces and other issues, trying to repair bilateral relations through dialogue, the two delegations also agreed to hold a new round of dialogue next week. After the news broke, Saudi media quoted Saudi Foreign Ministry officials as saying that there is currently no meeting between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister, has suggested that Iran could “fully discuss” with Saudi Arabia on any possible progress in nuclear talks, and said Gulf Arab states such as Saudi Arabia want to participate in negotiations on the Iranian nuclear issue.
Iran responded that the Iran nuclear agreement is a multilateral international agreement approved by the United Nations Security Council resolution, can never be renegotiated, its participants are clear and immutable.
