Iraq brokers talks between rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia
World
(L to R) The flags of Saudi Arabia and Iran. Wikipedia/File
Middle East rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran are holding talks secretly in Baghdad, according to an Iraqi government official told
AFP.
The official-level meetings aim to restore relations severed five years ago between the two states.
The initiative comes at a time of shifting power dynamics, as US President Joe Biden is seeking to revive the tattered 2015 nuclear deal that was abandoned by Donald Trump.
Riyadh has officially denied the talks in its state media while Tehran has stayed mum, asserting only that it has always welcomed dialogue with Saudi Arabia.
Iraniens et Saoudiens renouent le dialogue en Irak, devenu hôte de choix
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Rencontre Arabie saoudite-Iran à Bagdad: prémices d une détente entre les deux puissances?
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Senior Saudi and Iranian officials held direct talks in a bid to repair relations between the two regional rivals, according to a report in the Financial Times which quoted officials briefed on the discussions.
The first round of the reported talks, held four years after both sides cut off diplomatic ties, took place in Baghdad on April 9 and included discussions about attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi group.
The unnamed official quoted in the report said the Saudi delegation was led by Khalid bin Ali al-Humaidan, the kingdom’s intelligence chief, and another round of talks was also scheduled.