Iran hails ‘new chapter’ of Saudi co-operation after New York meeting

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has hailed a bright future working relationship after meeting his Saudi Arabia counterpart Prince Saud al-Faisal in New York. Zarif suggested that the talks could lead to an improvement in relations and said: “Both my Saudi counterpart and I believe that this meeting will be the first page of a new chapter in our two countries’ relations. We hope that this new chapter will be effective in establishing regional and global peace and security and will safeguard the interests of Muslim nations across the world.”

We are aware of the importance and sensitivity of this crisis and the opportunity we have ahead of us. We believe that by using this precious opportunity and avoid the mistakes of the past, we can deal with this crisis successfully.

Prince Saud, in a reference to the advance of Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria

These two countries are influential in the region and cooperation between them will have clear effects on the establishment of regional and global security. Shia Muslim Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia are bitter rivals for influence in the Gulf and this is their first first foreign minister-level meeting since the 2013 election of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani,

Middle East saudi arabia