Iran's Pezeshkian says 'no place for hostility' with Saudi Arabia, ready to visit Riyadh

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressed at a press conference in Tehran on Monday his willingness to improve Iranian-Saudi relations, calling the two nations "brothers" and adding that he would visit Riyadh when the opportunity presented itself. 

In his first press conference since assuming office in July, Pezeshkian spoke about the possibility of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visiting Iran. “We are brothers, so there is no place for hostility. I welcome any move that can solve the differences between Muslims,” he told the press.

China brokered a deal between Riyadh and Tehran in March 2023 to restore diplomatic ties and revive a 2001 security cooperation agreement, following seven years of severed bilateral ties. The deal led to both Iran and Saudi Arabia reopening their embassies, yet ties between the two nations remain fragile, with little to no progress in the economic and business areas. 

Pezeshkian rejected recent allegations by the United States and its European allies of Iran sending ballistic missiles to Russia. “Iran and Russia, we are working together. … We don’t want to take the side of the belligerent party (in the Russia-Ukraine war). … But … we’ll continue to have relations with Russia.”

He also rejected the claim that Iran supplied hypersonic missiles to Yemen’s Houthis — whose missiles reached central Israel for the first time on Sunday — saying that “Yemenis are capable of building their own weapons.” 

Regarding his message to the United States, Pezeshkian said that “if they are willing to respect our rights, we have no quarrel with [them]. We want to grow our country and not have our security taken away or be threatened. We will not bow down to humiliation.” 

“The Americans must show that they are not hostile toward us. We did not establish bases around their country, nor did we impose sanctions on them,” he said.

He spoke about the former nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and the Financial Action Task Force, saying that “if we can resolve the JCPOA and FATF [issues], we can achieve our goals.” 

The election of Pezeshkian, a reformist, sparked hopes that the JCPOA, or something resembling it, could be revived and that Iran would join the FATF. Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who ultimately directs foreign policy, signaled in August that Iran could be open to negotiations regarding the JCPOA.