Tehran quietly pushing to resume ties with Riyadh

TEHRAN: Iran has asked Saudi Arabia to reopen consulates and re-establish diplomatic ties as a prelude to ending the war in Yemen, with timing emerging as the key sticking point in Iraqibrokered talks between the regional rivals, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions.

While world powers push for negotiations to resurrect the Iran nuclear deal, Iran has quietly held four rounds of discussions aimed at easing years of tension with Saudi Arabia. The focus has been on Yemen, where the two countries back opposing sides.

The last round of Saudi-Iran talks took place on Sept 21 and another is expected to take place soon.

Saudi Arabia, which has battled Iranian-backed Houthi fighters in Yemen since 2015, is pushing to end a conflict that’s exposed its oil facilities to drone and missile attacks. Two years ago, a Houthi assault on Saudi Arabia’s Abqaiq knocked out half the production capacity in the world’s biggest oil exporter, roiling global markets.

It wants a deal on Yemen as an initial step toward rebuilding diplomatic ties, which were severed in 2016, but Iran has insisted that normalisation come first, said one of the people, and two others briefed on the talks, asking not to be named because details are private.

Iran has suggested reopening the consulates in the Iranian and Saudi cities of Mashhad and Jeddah respectively as a sign of good will, two of the people said. The talks have progressed overall but tend to stumble when it comes to details, one of the people said.

Iran’s foreign ministry and Saudi Arabia’s Centre for International Communications, which deals with international media queries, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials in Iraq, which has been helping to broker the talks, also did not comment.

Saudi Arabia’s proposals to halt the fighting have been met with scant interest from the Houthis, who diplomats say see little reason to back down after successfully taking over swathes of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.

Reflecting growing concern in Yemen’s Saudi-backed government that a deal would come at its expense, Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik warned on Monday that his country “should not be a bargaining chip.” He said the arrival of a hardline government in Tehran suggested there’d be no let up in support for the Houthis.