Khamenei adviser says Iran ready for regional dialogue after Biden’s Middle East tour

Kamal Kharrazi, who is also a former Iranian foreign minister, in an interview with Al Jazeera, said Iran is ready to hold dialogue with key regional players, including Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Egypt, and Qatar.

The remarks came after US President Joe Biden’s maiden visit to the Middle East, which took him to Israel and Saudi Arabia.

On the second leg of his tour in the Saudi port city of Jeddah on Friday, Biden and Saudi crown prince Mohammad bin Salman addressed a regional summit, which was followed by a hard-hitting statement against Iran.

In the joint communique, the two sides “underscored the need to further deter Iran’s interference in the internal affairs of other countries, its support for terrorism through its armed proxies, and its efforts to destabilize the security and stability of the region”.

Kharrazi, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said the only solution to regional crises is the formation of a regional forum with the participation of important countries.

He also dismissed the idea of “Middle East NATO” as “trivial” and said it was “out of agenda,” seconding Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan.

Kharrazi further said that Iran welcomes the top Saudi diplomat’s statement wherein he expressed his country’s readiness to extend a hand of friendship toward Iran.

Faisal on Saturday said the kingdom’s hand of friendship is extended toward Iran, while adding that the ongoing talks between the two regional adversaries in Baghdad have been “positive” but without any significant breakthrough.

“We are keen on finding a path to normal relations with neighboring Iran, and this is fundamentally linked to getting understandings that address sources of concern regarding Iranian activities, not only in Saudi Arabia, but with all countries in the region,” the top Saudi diplomat told reporters after the Jeddah summit.

Kharrazi also reiterated what other Iranian officials have said in recent weeks about the Israeli “threat” to Iran and the region, vowing Iran’s appropriate response.

“Targeting our security from neighboring countries will be dealt with a response from us to these countries and a direct response to Israel. We have held extensive drills targeting Israel’s depth in case our sensitive facilities are targeted,” the official said.

On the ongoing talks between Tehran and Washington in Doha, mediated by the EU, Kharrazi said the US has been unwilling to give “guarantees” which can “freeze any possible agreement.”

He also referred to the UN nuclear agency’s recent resolution against Iran, saying if the agency acts fairly and independently, “it would be easy to resolve disputes.”

The senior Iranian official ruled out any negotiations over Iran’s missile development program and regional activities, which have been bones of contention between Iran and the Western powers for many years.

Kharrazi said Iran has the “technical capability” to build a nuclear bomb, and can easily ramp up nuclear enrichment from the present 60% to 90%, but “it does not intend to” go that path.

Tensions have dramatically soared between Iran and the US following Biden’s West Asia tour, during which the two sides traded barbs over Iran’s nuclear program and regional activities.

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