Iran ready to expand all-out cooperation with Saudi Arabia: president

TEHRAN - Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met here on Thursday with visiting Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, calling for expanding cooperation between their two countries in all areas.

Pezeshkian said Iran is fully prepared to expand its relations with Saudi Arabia in all fields and extend bilateral cooperation to other Islamic countries, according to a statement published on the website of his office.

He also welcomed the establishment of joint working groups in various political, economic, and security areas, emphasizing that Iran and Saudi Arabia could coordinate to resolve many of the problems in the region, without the need for foreign intervention.

The Saudi defense minister, for his part, described his meetings with Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Mohammad Baqeri earlier in the day as "very useful, positive, and constructive."

He called Iran and Saudi Arabia "two main pillars of the region," stressing their strong relations could be an effective model for convergence and synergy in the Muslim world.

Iran and Saudi Arabia formally declared in April 2023 the resumption of diplomatic relations with immediate effect.

Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016 in response to attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran. The attacks followed Saudi Arabia's execution of a Shiite cleric.