Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Wednesday, Oct 01, 2025

Saudi Arabia wants dialogue after Jordan meeting: Iran minister

Saudi Arabia wants dialogue after Jordan meeting: Iran minister

Several factors have delayed a sixth round of direct bilateral talks, which could be held at the foreign-minister level.


Saudi Arabia is open to more dialogue with Iran, according to comments made by the Iranian foreign minister after he met his Saudi counterpart in Jordan.

In an Arabic tweet published on Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said he spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in addition to other counterparts from the region and from France on the sidelines of an Iraq-focused conference in Jordan on Tuesday.

“The Saudi minister assured me of his country’s readiness to continue dialogue with Iran,” he wrote.

Amirabdollahian did not disclose more details, and Saudi officials have yet to comment publicly.

The two regional rivals cut diplomatic ties in 2016 after a crowd stormed the Sunni-majority kingdom’s embassy in Tehran following the execution of a prominent Shia leader.

Since April 2021, Iraq has hosted five rounds of direct talks between the two, the latest of which came in April this year. A sixth round has been anticipated for months, with speculation that it could for the first time happen at the level of foreign ministers, but there have been several roadblocks.

For one, Iraq, which has mediated between the two sides, has been undergoing its own political turmoil, with current Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani coming into power in October following infighting that ultimately saw the Iran-backed Coalition Framework emerge on top.

On the other hand, Iran has significantly intensified its rhetoric against Saudi Arabia, accusing it of bankrolling media channels that, according to Tehran, have “incited terrorism” during the country’s unrest since nation-wide protests began in mid-September.

The apparent meeting between the foreign ministers in Jordan is a sign that neither side wants to shut the door to dialogue completely, but should not raise expectations for immediate tangible results either, according to Hamidreza Azizi, a fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs.

“The renewed mutual suspicions and increased threat perceptions make a real breakthrough in diplomatic relations very unlikely,” he told Al Jazeera, adding that the empowerment of factions close to Iran in Iraq makes Baghdad’s role as mediator more difficult as well.

“In such circumstances, the best outcome the two sides may achieve in the short term is to maintain a minimum of their diplomatic communication channels and try to manage the tensions. In that sense, I don’t think we should expect a new round of talks at the level of foreign ministers or any type of rapprochement.”

In the longer term, Azizi said things would depend on the domestic situation in Iran and Tehran’s relations with the West.

“At the moment, the Saudis seem to be comfortable with the fact that the Iranian government is under enormous pressure domestically and internationally and is in no rush to give any concessions for resuming normal relations with Tehran.”

Azizi said a potential direct or indirect military assault by Iran on Saudi assets would signal a “game-changer” for bilateral and regional ties.


Separately, in a speech on Tuesday, Esmaeil Qaani, the commander of the Quds Force, which is the foreign operations arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), suggested Saudi Arabia was an extension of US efforts in the region.

“The main enemies are the criminal US and the Zionist regime [Israel],” he said. “The rest, like the criminal Saudi Arabia, are dregs and are not even worth being considered enemies.”

Qaani delivered the remarks during an event held to mark the first anniversary of the death of Hassan Irloo, the country’s top envoy to war-torn Yemen, who died after contracting COVID-19. Tehran had accused Saudi authorities of refusing to cooperate in time to secure his air transfer, something which they denied.

Tehran backs the Houthi rebels in the war in Yemen, while Riyadh backs the Yemeni government.

Tehran and Baghdad, on the other hand, have also seen increased tensions in bilateral relations as the IRGC has launched multiple rounds of artillery, missile and drone attacks on northern Iraq since September, in an effort to target “secessionist terrorist” Kurdish groups based there.

Iran accuses them of smuggling weapons into its territory with the aim of using them during the country’s unrest. Iraqi Prime Minister al-Sudani visited Tehran last month and met Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Ebrahim Raisi to discuss the issue.


Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
×