AHMADINEJAD SUPPORTS INCLUSION OF SAUDI IN FRESH NUCLEAR TALKS

Tue 23 March 2021:

Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said there is no problem in involving the Gulf nations, including Saudi Arabia, in nuclear deal discussions.

“There is no problem in engaging the Gulf states in discussing the nuclear deal” including Saudi Arabia, Ahmadinejad said in an interview with the Russian RT TV channel, adding that he believes the 2015 nuclear agreement was unsuccessful.

He said the region’s problems should be solved by the countries of the region, explaining that the interference of other countries will not contribute to solving the pending issues.

The former official’s remarks contradict the official Iranian position, which said it will not renegotiate a deal or include any other countries in talks.

The former Iranian president stressed the need to resolve the differences between Tehran and Riyadh through dialogue, expressing his belief that there are no real roots for the problems between them, and that foreign interventions and the arms trade have increased the differences with Saudi Arabia.

He accused the United States of playing a role in “wars, disagreements, occupation, conflicts, and poverty that dominate a large part of the world,” noting that he had sent a message to US President Joe Biden calling on him to create real reforms in the US foreign policies, whether towards Iran or the world.