Saudi Arabia's prince seeks good relations with Iran
The two countries, locked during a fierce struggle for regional dominance, cut ties in 2016 after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions following the kingdom's execution of a revered Shia cleric.
“Iran may be a neighbouring country, and every one we aspire for may be a good and special relationship with Iran,” Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman said during a television interview broadcast late on Tuesday.
“We don't want Iran's situation to be difficult. On the contrary, we would like Iran to grow [...] and to push the region and therefore the world towards prosperity.”
He added that Riyadh was working with regional and global partners to seek out solutions to Tehran's “negative behaviour”.
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That marks a change in tone compared to Prince Mohammed's previous interviews, during which he lashed out at Tehran, accusing it of fuelling regional insecurity.
The prince didn't mention any negotiations with Tehran.
Saudi Arabia's prince seeks good relations with Iran
In the TV interview broadcast on Tuesday night, Prince Mohammed said Saudi Arabia didn't want "the situation with Iran to be difficult".
"At the top of the day, Iran may be a neighbouring country and every one that we hope for is to possess good relations.
"Our problem is with Iran's negative behaviour, from its nuclear programme, to its support for outlaw militias within the region, or its firing of ballistic missiles," he added.
"We are working with our regional and global partners to seek out solutions to those problems and that we hope to beat them permanently relations that benefit everyone."
The comments by Prince Mohammed, who is Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, are more measured than in previous years. In 2018, he compared Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, to Hitler .
Asked about the war in Yemen, which has caused what the UN says is that the world's worst humanitarian crisis, the prince said that no country wanted an armed militia along its borders.
He urged the Houthis, who rejected a Saudi ceasefire proposal last month, to "sit at the negotiating table" to seek out solutions that would "assure the rights of the people of Yemen and also the interests of the region".
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Prince Mohammed also downplayed any differences with the new US president within the interview.
As well as seeking to rejoin the Iran nuclear deal, Mr Biden has withdrawn US support for Saudi offensive operations in Yemen, been critical of Saudi Arabia's human rights record, and released a US intelligence report that concluded the prince had approved the 2018 murder of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The prince denies any involvement.
"We are quite 90% in agreement with the Biden administration when it involves Saudi and US interests, and that we are working to strengthen these interests," Prince Mohammed said. "There is not any doubt that the us may be a strategic partner."
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