ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Tension-easing talks between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia are progressing positively and “good” measures in the right direction have been taken, the Iranian foreign ministry said on Monday, adding that the restoration of relations is in the interests of both sides.
"It is natural that there are differences of opinion and complex issues, but so far the process of negotiations has been positive and we have taken very good steps forward," the ministry’s spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in his weekly presser.
The Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Shiite-majority Iran severed ties in 2016 when Iranian protestors attacked the Saudi diplomatic mission in Tehran in retaliation to the kingdom's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.
The two rivals held the first round of reconciliation talks in April of last year in Baghdad. The Iraqi capital has since hosted five rounds of negotiations between the two.
Kanaani added that the resumption of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia "is not a one-day action" and that their relations are based on "bilateral and regional issues," praising Riyadh for reciprocating Tehran's sentiment in reviving the ties.
Touching on the 2015 nuclear deal, Kanaani blamed the US for its failure to implement the agreement as it has not responded to Iran’s suggested amendments to the EU’s “final” proposal to revive the deal, warning that Tehran will not continue waiting for the other side to respond.
Iran also slammed the US for succumbing to pressure from "opponents" of the nuclear deal, referring to Israel, as well as displaying "weakness" in "facing the opponents of the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] inside the United States" to ensure that the nuclear talks do not reach a conclusion, Iranian state media reported on Monday.
After some 16 months of EU-mediated talks between Iran and the US, Tehran responded to the EU’s text to restore the nuclear deal last week while seeking Washington’s flexibility.
The nuclear deal was signed between Britain, China, France, Germany, Iran, Russia, and the United States in 2015, offering Iran sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program that it rapidly advanced following former US president Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal from the deal, sparking concerns that Iran is seeking to develop an atomic bomb.
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