ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Security in the Middle East could prevail as an outcome of the resumption of key talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, an Iraqi official said on Wednesday after the fifth round of negotiations were concluded in Baghdad.
Iranian and Saudi negotiators have met in Baghdad on four different occasions, with the presence of Iraqi officials. The regional rivals resumed their fifth round of talks, which have been on the agenda since the year started, last week.
The outcomes of the talks, aimed at restoring ties between the two countries, could add “more stability and integration” to the security of the region, Ahmed al-Sahaf, spokesperson for the Iraqi foreign ministry told Rudaw’s Halkawt Aziz.
Iraq has played a key role in facilitating the talks, which allows the country to “regain its role within the framework of its regional and international interactions,” Sahaf added.
The Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Shiite-majority Iran have had rocky relations since 1979, when Shia revolutionaries came to power in Iran and pledged to export their revolution to the world, including Gulf countries.
Their relations deteriorated in 2016 when Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions after the kingdom executed Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Riyadh responded by cutting ties with Tehran.
Last month, Iran said it had suspended participation in talks after Saudi Arabia announced the execution of 81 people, convicted of various “terrorism” crimes, in one day. In the same month, Saudi said they are “neighbors forever” with Iran.
Iran’s support for Houthi rebels in the Yemeni civil war since late 2014 has also caused concerns for the Saudi establishment.
