Ali Asghar Khaji, assistant to the foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Javad Zarif, said in a recent interview: “I don’t want to say all the actions we took were correct and flawless,” adding: “Iran must address Saudi Arabia’s concerns, and in return Iran’s concerns must be addressed by them.”

In his interview with the state-owned “Iran” newspaper on Tuesday, August 13, Khaji claimed that Tehran has no problem with entering a conversation with Saudi Arabia, but “this country does not want to have a conversation with Iran.”

Khaji, who served as Iran’s ambassador to Riyadh from 2010 to 2014, continued: “When we sent a message to Arabia and told them: We are neighbors and live in the same region and we can’t change the geography. Peace and tensions impact all the countries in the region. Let’s talk about all the issues and help solve the problems in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Lebanon. Their response to Iran was very clear: You do not have the right to intervene in the issues of the Arab world.”

Regarding the current tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, he stated: “Many countries came to us and announced that they are willing to play the role of a mediator, but Saudis rejected all of them.”

“I even remember when the king of Saudi Arabia was supposed to visit China, although the Chinese tend not to get involved in such issues, they announced that they are willing to mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia, but the Saudi embassy issued a statement expressing their strong opposition to the offer,” said Khaji.

He went on to say that “we are still hopeful that Saudi Arabia will revisit its regional policies in the future,” adding: “Their decisions in the region, including in Yemen, in recent years, has led to nothing but failure, and the more this situation continues, it will be more costly for Saudi Arabia and the region, and even for Iran.”