On Tuesday, in an interview with state media, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin-Salman (MBS) said that Saudi Arabia wanted better relations with Iran. “Iran is a neighboring country, and all we aspire for is a good and special relationship with Iran,” MBS said, adding, “We do not want Iran's situation to be difficult. On the contrary, we want Iran to grow...and to push the region and the world towards prosperity.”
The Crown Prince, in a 90-minute interview marking the fifth anniversary of Vision 2030, expressed his hope for improved ties between the two rivals. “We want it to grow and prosper,” MBS said, while also stressing that Riyadh has issues with “the negative influences of their [Iran’s] nuclear programme, their support for regional proxies and their ballistic missiles programme.” In this regard, he said that the Kingdom was actively working to “find solutions” to these challenges.
Last week, various news outlets reported that secret direct talks had been held between Iran and Saudi Arabia in a bid to calm tensions between both sides. Both countries have had major issues with each other for a long time and tensions spiralled out of control when the Saudi embassy in Tehran was attacked by Iranian mobs in 2016 over Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shia cleric. Following the attacks, the Kingdom officially broke diplomatic ties with the Islamic Republic.
Since then both sides have clashed numerous times, especially in war-torn Yemen. Saudi Arabia has led an international coalition in the country that has been launching airstrikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The Houthis have also targeted Saudi energy infrastructure, including several Saudi Aramco facilities.
“No country in the world accepts militias on its borders,” MBS said, adding, “We hope that the Houthis will sit at the negotiating table to reach solutions that guarantee rights for all... While there is no doubt that the Houthis have a close relationship with the Iranian regime, there is no doubt that the Houthis are Arabs at the end of the day, and it is inevitable that they will have to work with their brothers to end this conflict.”
MBS also spoke of Riyadh’s relationship with Washington and said that differences with United States (US) President Joe Biden were minimal. “Like every family, brothers do not agree 100 percent on all issues and matters. This is similar when it comes to governments,” the leader remarked.
US-Saudi relations have taken a hit in the aftermath of the 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi. In February, the Biden administration released a report explicitly blaming MBS for Khashoggi’s assassination in Istanbul. The US has also sought to end its support to Saudi in its war in Yemen. Additionally, the White House has also said that it will engage with the country on a “counterpart to counterpart” level, and therefore conduct diplomacy through Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, rather than Crown Prince MBS.