Iran to Hold New Round of Talks With Saudi Arabia in Iraq, Foreign Ministry Says

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iran and Saudi Arabia will soon hold the fifth round of negotiations in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad to resolve existing differences between the countries, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Saeed Khatibzadeh, said on Monday.
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"There is another round of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia on the agenda, which will be hosted by Iraq. We tried to continue negotiations on the issues that have arisen between us, despite all the disputes," Khatibzadeh said during a press conference.
Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia soured in January 2016 following Riyadh's decision to execute Shia cleric Ayatollah Nimr al-Nimr, who questioned the Gulf monarchy's authority. On the same day, crowds of Iranians broke into the territory of Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad. In response, Riyadh cut the relations with Tehran.
In the spring of 2021, Iran and Saudi Arabia began negotiations to settle the controversies in bilateral relations. They held four rounds of talks in Baghdad. According to the Iranian foreign ministry, although the negotiation had some positive impact on the bilateral relations, the resumption of work of the embassies has not yet been discussed.
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