FM: Iran always extends hand of friendship to Persian Gulf Arab nations

The Iranian foreign minister underlined, “This region belongs to all of us and its security is in the interest of all of us,” noting that only one group benefits from insecurity in the region, Mehr News Agency reported.

Zarif added that Tehran is ready to hold talks with regional countries and has accepted offers made by Qatar and Kuwait in this regard.

Iran’s top diplomat underlined that Iran’s readiness for talks is not a new thing, saying that Tehran had proposed talks before the two Arab countries proposed dialogue between Iran and some Persian Gulf Arab states.

He also pointed to the Hormuz Peace Endeavour (HOPE), proposed by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in 2019 in order to establish a lasting peace in the Persian Gulf with the participation of all the regional countries.

Zarif on Wednesday welcomed his Qatari counterpart’s proposal for dialogue between the Persian Gulf Arab countries and Iran, saying that Iran has always supported dialogue between the regional countries to resolve differences.

He said that Tehran had long demanded neighborly cooperation towards establishing a strong region.

Qatar’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani on Monday called for Persian Gulf Arab countries to hold talks with Iran, saying that Doha believes that dialogue between neighboring countries should take place.

The top Qatari diplomat, who has previously called for dialogue with Iran, told Bloomberg TV he was “hopeful that this would happen and we still believe this should happen”.

This is also a desire that’s shared by other Persian Gulf Cooperation Council countries, he said.