Iranian Envoy: Saudi-Iran Talks to Resume When Iraq Stable

By Staff, Agencies

A delayed sixth round of talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Baghdad will take place when conditions are suitable in Iraq, said Iran’s ambassador to Kuwait.

Riyadh and Tehran, the leading powers in the Middle East respectively, are locked in a decades-long rivalry.

Last year they launched direct talks in a bid to improve relations. Baghdad has hosted five rounds of talks so far, the last in April.

Iran’s envoy to Kuwait, Mohammad Irani, told Al Rai newspaper that talks scheduled last month were delayed due to the “latest development in Iraq” – where a political crisis is preventing a government to form.

"There is agreement on resuming discussions with a sixth-round... but we must wait for an Iraqi invitation after the current events in Iraq," Irani said.

He noted that the talks would aim to reach an agreement for a direct meeting between the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers.

The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Riyadh, which severed ties with Iran in 2016, launched the direct talks last year as global powers worked to revive a 2015 nuclear pact with Tehran.