TEHRAN (Reuters) - The United Arab Emirates has put forward an initiative to settle political issues between the two countries, the Iranian presidency said on Thursday.

"The foreign policy of Iran has always been to establish friendly relations with neighboring countries," the official IRNA news agency quoted the head of the presidential office, Mahmoud Vaazi, as saying.

He stressed that "all countries, even those that are compatible with US policies in the region, are looking forward to resolving outstanding political issues and establishing relations based on friendship with Iran."

"Saudi Arabia's literature on Iran has changed in recent years," the Iranian official said.

The preachers accused American politicians of "seeking to drain the money of Arab countries" and said, "They are not helping these countries in critical circumstances."

Relations between Abu Dhabi and Tehran are tense over the three disputed islands: Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa. The UAE says Iran occupies them.

Tensions between the two countries have been exacerbated by the five-year conflict in Yemen, between government forces backed by the Saudi-UAE alliance despite their recent partial withdrawal, and Houthi militants accused of supporting Iran.

On Sunday, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan launched an initiative to defuse rising tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani welcomed Khan's initiative to bring peace to the region and said Tehran would respond to any goodwill gesture with a goodwill gesture and good words.

The region is in a state of tension, as Washington and Gulf capitals, especially Riyadh, accuse Tehran of targeting Gulf vessels and oil facilities and threatening maritime navigation, which Iran denied, and offered to sign a non-aggression agreement with the Gulf states.