Riyadh and Tehran ready for talks to solve "regional problems"
Jeddah (AsiaNews/Agencies) - Iran and Saudi Arabia are prepared to work together to bring the two nations closer and find solutions to the region's many conflicts.
"We welcome negotiation and visits (aimed at) helping to resolve the regional problems, to clear up misunderstandings as well as expanding bilateral ties," Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said yesterday.
Similarly, on Tuesday Saudi foreign minister Prince Saud al-Faisal had called for "negotiations" with Iran after years of tensions, renewing an invitation to Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to visit Riyadh.
Tensions between the two Mideast oil giants date back to Khomeini's revolution. Their rivalry centred on who would dominate in the Muslim community: Shia Islam under a socialist-leaning Islamic republic, or Sunni Islam, led by a conservative monarchy, custodian of Islam's holiest sites.
In time, the struggle spilled into open confrontation during the Iran-Iraq war, the fall of Saddam Hussein (and the rise of Iraq's Shia), the war in Syria with Iran backing Assad and Saudi Arabia acting as the patron of his more fundamentalist opposition.
As the "Arab spring" broke out, agitation by Shia communities in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and across the Arabian Peninsula, was crushed by Saudi tanks, sending further shockwaves across the region.
Still, the call for direct talks between the two nations comes at a time when the Gulf Cooperation Council is meeting in Jeddah with the United States as its main supporter.
The Gulf monarchies continue to value US military cooperation "amid persistent threats to the region's security and stability," which "necessitate coordination in politics and defence strategies of our countries".
And, as regional tensions fuel a regional arms race, Gulf States treasuries find themselves spending more and more on defence.
For example, Saudi Arabia's latest military procurements (combat helicopters, sophisticated defence systems, bombs, etc.) come with a price tag of US$ 86 billion to the delight of European, Russian and American companies.
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