Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Iran seeks stronger cooperation with Saudi Arabia

http://www.haaretz.com/news/middle-east/1.561284
 
 
Iran seeks stronger cooperation with Saudi Arabia, says foreign minister
Improving relations with Sunni powers in Gulf has become priority of 
Iranian foreign policy following nuclear deal with world powers.
 
By Reuters	 | Dec. 2, 2013 | 8:57 AM
 
Iran said on Sunday it wanted stronger cooperation with U.S. ally Saudi 
Arabia, as it seeks to ease concerns among Gulf Arab neighbors about a 
potential resurgence in its influence following a nuclear deal with 
world powers.
 
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, on a tour of Gulf Arab 
states, said after talks in Kuwait that no date had been set for an 
expected visit to Sunni Muslim power Saudi Arabia, Shi'ite Iran's main 
regional rival.
 
But he suggested the nuclear deal reached in Geneva on November 24 
should not be seen as a threat.
 
"This agreement cannot be at the expense of any country in the region," 
Zarif, speaking through an interpreter, told reporters at a news 
conference after discussions with his Kuwaiti counterpart, Sheikh Sabah 
al-Hamad al-Sabah.
 
Asked about reports he also planned to visit Riyadh, Zarif said: "We 
look at Saudi Arabia as an important and influential regional country 
and we are working to strengthen cooperation with it for the benefit of 
the region."
 
He did not elaborate on how this might be done.
 
U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states cautiously welcomed the nuclear accord 
reached last month, but some officials have demanded assurances that the 
deal would contribute to their security.
 
Following his visit to Kuwait, Zarif headed to Oman, where he met with 
his counterpart and Sultan Qaboos, and said he was ready to expand 
cooperation between the two countries "as much as possible," Iranian 
state news agency IRNA reported.
 
Qaboos was the first foreign leader to visit Iranian President Hassan 
Rohani after his election in June, and U.S. officials said Oman was the 
location of secret nuclear talks that helped bring about the nuclear 
deal last month.
 
Iran has denied the negotiations took place.
 
The six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are wary of 
Iranian influence in the Middle East, fearing the Shi'ite Muslim-led 
country is seeking regional dominance and stirring sectarian tensions.
 
They worry Iran's nuclear program is aimed at producing a nuclear 
weapon, a charge Tehran has constantly denied.
 
UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed called for a partnership 
with Iran last week when he became the first Gulf Arab official to visit 
Tehran since the agreement was signed.
 
Improving relations with regional countries is a central plank of Iran's 
diplomatic policy under its new president, Hassan Rohani, and Zarif was 
due to travel to Oman, another member of the GCC, after Kuwait.
 
Asked about three disputed Gulf islands held by Iran but claimed by the 
United Arab Emirates, Zarif said Tehran was ready to talk about one of 
the islands, Abu Musa.
 
Rohani and Zarif have stressed greater regional stability as a priority, 
possibly an attempt to blunt the opposition of Gulf countries, 
particularly Saudi Arabia, to Tehran's newly minted nuclear deal with 
world powers.
-- 
Namib
.....
Земля - колыбель человечества, но нельзя вечно жить в колыбели
(Константи́н Эдуа́рдович Циолко́вский)

Ora Namib legge Ha ha haretz tutti i giorni. Magari il quotidiano di proprieta' tedesca lo informa anche sui contadini della Galilea che, come lui ha ripetuto due volte, non possono votare per la Knesset