The Iranian Foreign Ministry said today, Monday, that talks between the Islamic Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have finally taken place in Baghdad, in the first official confirmation from Tehran that those talks will take place.
"The purpose of the Iranian-Saudi talks was to discuss bilateral and regional relations," the Iranian Tasnim news agency quoted Saeed Khatibzadeh, a ministry spokesman, as saying.
The Foreign Ministry expressed its hope to reach a real understanding with Saudi Arabia regarding the bilateral relationship, regional developments, and resolving differences, but it linked the success of these talks and their progress to changing Riyadh's policies and rhetoric towards Tehran.
And Iraqi President Barham Salih recently revealed that his country has hosted more than one round of talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran, after weeks of Western media leaks about them, and following them, statements from officials of the two countries carried positive signs that such talks could take place, but without official confirmation of their occurrence.
Relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia have been cut off since the beginning of 2016, and the talks between the two sides come at a time when diplomats hope they will contribute to easing tensions in the region.