Iran Press/ Iran news: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif condemned earlier remarks by the Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs, Adel al-Jubeir, and said the kingdom cannot be described as a normal country after the state assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, and waging of a brutal devastating five-year war in Yemen.
According to a Tasnim news agency report, Zarif said on his Twitter account on Friday: “Normal countries don’t operate abattoirs disguised as consulates. 'Normal' countries don’t attack their neighbours, cause a humanitarian crisis, and refuse to talk.”
“Nonetheless, WE don’t set preconditions for dialog,” he added in his tweet.
Zarif’s remarks came in response to a recent comment by Adel al-Jubeir, who told CNBC that Iran has to act like a “normal country” before Saudi Arabia would be willing to sit down and have a dialogue with Iran.
The Iranian foreign minister had said in another tweet in Arabic on Thursday that “Iran remains open to dialogue with its neighbours, and we declare our readiness to participate in any complementary work that is in the interest of the region, and we welcome any step that restores hope to its people and brings them stability and prosperity.”
Relations between Tehran and Riyadh have been under strain for a number of years because the two countries have conflicting views on regional developments, particularly in Yemen and Syria. 207/211
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