Saudi official confirms recent Tehran-Riyadh talks

In an interview with Reuters on Friday, the Saudi official Ambassador Rayed Krimly, head of policy planning at the Saudi foreign ministry, confirmed that there had been talks between Tehran and Riyadh, saying that it was too early to judge the outcome.

He claimed that Riyadh wanted to see "verifiable deeds" from Iran.

"As to current Saudi-Iranian talks they aim to explore ways to reduce tensions in the region," Krimly told Reuters.

"We hope they prove successful, but it is too early, and premature, to reach any definitive conclusions. Our evaluation will be based on verifiable deeds, and not proclamations."

Krimly claimed that Saudi policy had been explained "very clearly" by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who last month said that while the kingdom has a problem with Tehran's "negative behavior" it wanted good relations with Iran. 

Iraq's president said on Wednesday that Baghdad hosted more than one round of talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

In reaction to the media reports, Iran Foreign Ministry Spokesman said on April 20 that Iran has always welcomed dialogue with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and considered it in the interest of the people of the two countries, regional peace, and stability.

KI/PR