According to reports from the Dpa news agency, Iranian President Hassan Rohani hoped for an improvement in relations with Saudi Arabia and assured that the Islamic Republic does not seek regional competition with the Gulf monarchy.
Hassan said: “We never wanted this rivalry in the region, nor the current confrontation. Tehran is interested in constructive collaboration with Riyadh and has no blame for the crisis with Saudi Arabia. We can do nothing if some princes suffer defeats due to their political positions (referring to the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman) ”.
According to the Iranian president, MBS was as wrong with the war in Yemen as in Syria and the Saudis cannot turn Iran into a scapegoat. In Yemen, Tehran is accused of supporting Shia Houthi rebels, which the Saudi-led Arab coalition is fighting alongside government forces. In Syria, the Islamic Republic is a traditional ally of Bashar al-Assad, while the Saudis support the opposition.
Saudi Arabia broke diplomatic relations with Iran last year in the framework of a tough confrontation sparked by the execution in the Gulf monarchy of the Shiite leader Nimr al-Nimr and the subsequent assaults on the Saudi embassy in the Iranian capital and the consulate in Mashhad.