Iran’s foreign minister said on Wednesday he spoke with his Saudi counterpart on the sidelines of a conference in Jordan the previous day, the highest-level encounter reported between officials from the rival states since they cut ties in 2016.
The Middle East’s leading Shi’ite and Sunni Muslim powers, Saudi Arabia and Iran have been on opposing sides of conflicts across the region including in Syria and Yemen. Iraq has hosted five meetings between Saudi and Iranian officials since last year in a bid to ease tensions, the last of which was in April.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, tweeting in Arabic, on Wednesday listed his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, as one of several foreign ministers with whom he had the chance to hold “friendly talks” on the sidelines of the Jordan conference.—Reuters
