RIYADH: Saudi Arabian envoy said on Monday that it would restore ties with Iran when Tehran stopped meddling in the affairs of other countries and pledged that Riyadh would continue to work “very hard” to support bids for peace in Syria and Yemen despite the spat.
Saudi Arabia cut all ties with Iran on Sunday following the kingdom’s execution of prominent Shi’ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. Protesters in Iran and Iraq marched for a third day to denounce the execution.
When asked what it would take for ties to be restored, Saudi U.N. Ambassador Abdallah Al-Mouallimi told reporters: “Very simple – Iran to cease and desist from interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, including our own.”
He added, “If they do so, we will of course have normal relations with Iran. We are not natural-born enemies of Iran.”(Reuters)