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Iran, Saudi Arabia should talk face-to-face
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi is to visit Tehran today. Some media outlets have announced that Kadhimi plans to discuss the matter of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, which were facilitated by Iraq.
Several issues overshadow the relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia including diplomatic relations between the two countries and the challenges and prospects facing it.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are two major key countries in the Muslim world. Even though Turkey has sought to become another key country, it still lacks the capacities of Iran and Saudi Arabia, capacities that even Egypt is deprived of. Therefore, the relationship between two regional powerhouses of Iran and Saudi Arabia affects other Islamic countries and their ties and developments. The more cordial the relationship between the two countries is, the more it serves themselves, the region, and the Islamic world.
Thus, there is no doubt that the two countries should maintain diplomatic relations even despite the major challenges facing them. Reason dictates that the relationship should be re-established as soon as possible. Of course, it was Saudi Arabia that severed diplomatic relations. The Islamic Republic of Iran has always tried to maintain diplomatic relations even with countries with which it disagrees on political matters.
Tehran and Riyadh have had several challenges on crude oil, for instance, and still do. The two countries have not followed a unified strategy on crude oil prices and production levels over the past four decades. The other challenge facing them is the security of the Persian Gulf region. Iran has always defended the notion of sharing the responsibility of ensuring security with other countries in the Persian Gulf region. Saudi Arabia, however, believes in the presence of transregional countries, namely the United States, to ensure the security of the region.
Iran’s nuclear file, the Palestinian issue, political crises in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, and the annual Hajj pilgrimage are among the other bones of contention between the two countries. Perhaps the most important challenge right now is the crisis in Yemen, where, fortunately, a cease-fire has been in place for some time.
Resolving these challenges is not possible without diplomatic ties and face-to-face talks. If the two sides fail to establish diplomatic relations, it might add to the list of the challenges between the two countries and make the current ones even more daunting. Therefore, wisdom dictates that the talks on resolving these challenges should lead to the establishment of diplomatic relations
The prospects of possible relations depend on whether Tehran and Riyadh will restore diplomatic relations, and whether they are serious enough in addressing the challenges and reducing tensions. No doubt, regional nations can play a catalytic role in the Iran-Saudi Arabia talks being fruitful as Iraq and Oman had played such a role. In addition, trans-regional actors such as the United States and Israel can also adversely affect the talks.
Anyhow, the resolution of disputes between the two major countries of the Muslim world had required Tehran and Riyadh to negotiate long ago, even without a go-between, and resume diplomatic relations. Now we hope that this will be achieved through the mediation efforts of Iraq.
Iran, EU agree to resume JCPOA revival talks in days
Iran and the European Union said on Saturday that stalled negotiations aimed at reviving the 2015 nuclear deal would recommence in Vienna in the coming days.
“We will try to resolve the existing problems and differences in the course of the talks that will resume soon,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told a joint press conference after meeting EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Tehran.
Amir-Abdollahian said Iran would welcome “dignified and result-oriented diplomacy and dialogue”.
EU-coordinated talks between Iran and France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China as well as the United States that participated indirectly have been on hold since March 11.
Key sticking points remained unresolved as the United States refused to meet Iran’s major demands including the removal of all sanctions it reimposed and reinforced on the Islamic Republic after its unilateral withdrawal from the deal, known as the JCPOA, in 2018.
“We hope that the American side will act realistically and fairly and take responsible and committed measures this time in the process of negotiations and in reaching the end point of an agreement,” the top Iranian diplomat said.
Amir-Abdollahian said what matters for Iran is to receive its full economic benefit from the JCPOA.
“Any issue that affects Iran’s full economic benefit from the JCPOA revival would not be acceptable to Iran,” he pointed out.
Borrell said his visit to Tehran was aimed at “breaking the deadlock at the JCPOA [talks] and reducing tensions.”
“It is important to me to break the JCPOA deadlock and we will resume the negotiations in the coming days… in Vienna after my trip,” he said.
He hoped that an agreement on the JCPOA revival would “ensure Iran’s economic security and alleviate the world’s non-proliferation concerns.”
North Korea denounces US ‘aggression’ as it marks war anniversary
North Korea on Saturday condemned “aggression moves” by Washington and Seoul, vowing to take revenge as it marked the 72nd anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War at a time of rising tension on the Korean Peninsula.
The North’s state news agency KCNA said on Saturday a number of workers’ organizations had held meetings to “vow revenge on the US imperialists”, blaming the United States for starting the 1950-1953 Korean War, Reuters reported.
The war ended in an armistice rather than a peace treaty, meaning US-led UN forces are still technically at war with North Korea.
According to the KCNA report, Pyongyang denounced Washington over what it called “aggression moves” carried out with South Korea and Japan, and said the US push to deploy “strategic assets” on the South was aimed at provoking another war.
Strategic assets can typically include aircraft carriers, long-range bomber aircraft or missile submarines.
“Such insolent behavior of the US fans the anger and revenge of the Korean people,” KCNA said.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and US President Joe Biden agreed in May to deploy more US weapons if it was necessary to deter the North.
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