May 16-2014
Saudi Arabia has invited Iran’s foreign minister to visit, Riyadh said Tuesday, raising hopes that the strain in relations may be eased.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has visited most of Saudi Arabia’s Persian Gulf Arab allies—including Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and the United Arab Emirate, but not Bahrain. He has publicly announced his wish to visit Riyadh, but Riyadh has been mum until now.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal told a news conference that Zarif had been given an invitation to the kingdom but had not yet responded. (He did not say when Riyadh issued the invitation.)
“This intention to visit has not become a fact…, but any time he sees fit to come, we are willing to receive him,” Prince Saud said.
There are a number of frictions between the Islamic Republic and the Saudi kingdom, most especially different views on Syria, Iran’s nuclear program, and anger at perceived Iranian support for Shia opposition to the Saudi ruling regime.
Both Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have accused Iran of trying to meddle in their internal affairs by stirring up their Shiite communities to revolt.
Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful but Saudi Arabia believes that at a minimum it is intended to advance Iranian political power over its Arab neighbors.
The most serious issue at the moment is Syria, where Saudi Arabia is a leading supporter of rebels fighting against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is a close ally of Tehran.
“We’ll negotiate with them [Iran]; we’ll talk with them,” Prince Saud said. “And our hope is that Iran becomes part of the effort to make the region as safe and as prosperous as possible and not become part of the problem.”