DUBAI — Iran on Wednesday appeared to welcome an offer by Saudi Arabia to thaw relations between the two countries, a day after Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal invited his Iranian counterpart to visit. Tehran, however, stopped short of confirming plans for a trip to the Kingdom by Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Saudi Arabia took a step toward breaking the ice on Tuesday, when Prince Saud said he had invited his Iranian counterpart to visit and was awaiting a reply. “I hope that Iran contributes to stability in the region,” Prince Saud was quoted as saying by the Saudi Press Agency. “Iran is a neighbor country and we have relations with it. We talk to them and hope to end any differences between the two countries.” In recent months, Zarif visited several Gulf states, including the United Arab Emirates and Oman in a sign of improving relations with its neighbors. Tehran has expressed an interest in working more closely with Saudi Arabia too. Iran's deputy foreign minister Amir Abdollahian was quoted on Wednesday by al-Alam, the Arabic-language channel of Iran's state TV: “Iran welcomes dialogue and meeting to help resolve regional disputes, remove misunderstandings and further promote bilateral ties.” Iranian government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Nowbakht also appeared to welcome Riyadh's outreach. “Saudi Arabia is a neighbor. Strengthening ties and good neighborly relations with it is to the interests of the region,” the official IRNA news agency quoted Nowbakht as saying on Wednesday. “The will of the government is that relations with Saudi Arabia be promoted to meet the interests of the two countries.” – AP
