Iranian Foreign Minister asked to visit Saudi Arabia but its officials have refused, He said

Shafaq News / The Iranian Foreign Minister, Muhammad Javad Zarif revealed, on Monday, that soon after taking office he asked to visit Saudi Arabia but its officials have refused.

Zarif said to Iran's Ettelaat newspaper “when i assumed position, repairing the bilateral relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia was one of the first issues discussed with the former Quds Force commander, Qassem Soleimani.”

He added, “In 2013, I expressed to the former Saudi Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal my desire to visit Riyadh and Tehran's readiness for a dialogue with the participation of Qassem Soleimani on Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, Lebanon and Yemen issues, but he responded by saying you have nothing to do with the Arab world," noting that he feels more sorry about not visiting the Kingdom.

The Iranian Minister said Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman refused to stop war in Yemen despite Washington's approval and Iran’s supportive position.

“Iran was intending at the time to hold a dialogue with the Gulf countries within the framework of the 6 + 1 group, but Mina incident (during the haj pilgrimage in 2015) and then storming the Saudi embassy in Tehran prevented that.” Zarif revealed.

Zarif stressed that “hardliners” in the Gulf Cooperation Council rejected Rouhani's offer to negotiate during the Manama summit just after Trump's nomination, adding that "some Gulf countries believed that with Trump's coming to power, they would dialogue with Iran on better terms."

“We tell the Gulf states that you waited for Trump, but you gain nothing from him, and today you are turning to Israel and you will not get anything from it. " He said.

The Foreign Minister warned that Israel is not able to protect itself and will not be able to secure the Gulf, adding, "We say to the Gulf states that Israel is coming to destabilize your region and to use your land borders for its own war.”

“Trump described you (Gulf States) as a milking cow, but Israel will be worse than him." Zarif said.

He called on the Gulf States to accept Qatar’s initiative for Gulf Arab nations to enter a dialogue with Iran, saying "Tehran is ready to negotiate."