Tehran Would Welcome Genuine Change of Approach by Riyadh

A senior Iranian diplomat said Saudi Arabia has begun to realize that its aggressive foreign policy was a failure and appears to be revising some aspects of it, noting that Tehran would welcome a genuine change of approach by Riyadh.
“It looks like the Saudi officials have started reforming some of their policies concerning interaction with some of the Persian Gulf littoral countries, having understood that war and bloodshed does not help them any more and also having despaired of their former allies,” Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said in a recent interview with ISNA.   
Khatibzadeh said if Riyadh has seriously put reforms on its agenda and come to the conclusion that “regional cooperation” is the best way out of the region’s problems, the Islamic Republic would then be the first country to welcome the change.
“We have always emphasized that regional countries should arrive at a common understanding regarding regional problems,” he said, adding that such an understanding would help establish a “security mechanism” that could be used to govern the region, Khatibzadeh added.
In a recent interview with the Al Arabiya TV channel, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud asserted that “our hands are outstretched for peace with Iran”.
Even though the top diplomat dampened the statement by accusing Iran of not committing itself to agreements and not being “serious about talks with Riyadh”, the apparent offer of conciliation still struck a rare tone.
However, the kingdom has so far left Iran’s proposals for negotiation and resolution of standing differences between the two countries unanswered, Khatibzadeh lamented.
Regional powerhouse Iran’s steady progress and growing regional influence have hardly gone well with the Saudi kingdom over the past years. Riyadh cut its diplomatic ties with Tehran in early 2016 after its execution of senior Saudi Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr prompted angry protests in front of Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran.

Intensified Hostility 

Mohammed bin Salman’s designation in 2017 as the next in line to assume Saudi kingship was followed by an exponential increase in Riyadh’s animosity toward Tehran.
Under bin Salman, the kingdom along with the Israeli regime put pressure on the administration of former US president, Donald Trump, to withdraw from a historic nuclear deal with Iran, which Washington did in May 2018 and restored its draconian sanctions against Tehran.
Khatibzadeh reminded that Saudi Arabia tows a long record of destabilizing moves in the region, from the war on Yemen and support for regional militancy and terrorism to a 2017 Saudi-led regional blockade of Qatar.
Iran, by contrast, has been leading a responsible and humane approach toward regional issues and has exercised self-restraint in the face of misconduct by Saudi Arabia and others, he said.
Even if Riyadh might have some concerns, “the answer is not war”, the official said.
The spokesman said Tehran has always invited the kingdom toward negotiation. He cited a proposal by President Hassan Rouhani, dubbed Hormuz Peace Initiative (HOPE), which is designed to enable reconciliation and further cooperation among all countries of the region, as a case in point.
“Some concerns may be delusional and lead to foreign intervention in the region,” he said. “We are even prepared to discuss these delusional and notional concerns.”
Nevertheless, “the solution is in the Saudis’ hands and they can solve this issue whenever they choose to,” the official said.