TEHRAN, Aug. 3– Iran has exchanged views with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan on the latest progress of the diplomatic efforts and initiatives aimed at maintaining and enhancing security and stability in the West Asia region, the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced early Monday.
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi had separate phone calls with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, according to a statement from the ministry.
The three sides highlighted the necessity to use the capacities provided by regional cooperation and political solutions, said the ministry.
The Iranian foreign minister also had separate telephone conversations with his Saudi counterpart and the Pakistani army chief on Saturday, when he warned the United States against taking any “adventurous” action, voicing Tehran’s complete readiness to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and security, according to the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
He said the Iranian armed forces will give “decisive and fitting” responses to any “aggression and hostile action” by the United States and Israel against Iran or the participation of regional states in the perpetration of such acts, stressing that the responsibility for the consequences of such “adventurous actions” will be borne by those behind them.
In a related development, U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday that negotiations with Iran will begin Monday afternoon, noting that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar had asked Washington to call off planned strikes because “they think there’s a deal.”
“There’s a deal on (the Strait of) Hormuz, and then there will be a deal on the nuclear, or you might call it the denuclearization of Iran,” Trump told reporters.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a post on social media platform X on Sunday that Iran must make efforts to compel the United States to remain committed to the recently signed memorandum of understanding (MoU) on peace between the two countries.
Pezeshkian said that he believes the MoU will be the focal point of Iran’s foreign relations in the future, adding the security of Iran, its allies and the West Asia region will improve with the MoU.
On June 18, Iran and the United States signed the MoU on ending the war in the region on all fronts, including Lebanon. The two countries were scheduled to hold negotiations within a 60-day period to reach a final agreement, but the talks’ fate is hanging in the balance due to recent escalation between Tehran and Washington. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
