Iran's Acting Foreign Minister, Ali Bagheri Kani, called the state of relations between the Islamic Republic and Saudi Arabia "progressive" after conducting a phone call with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Friday night.

He additionally praised the meeting with Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed al-Khereiji in Tehran on the sidelines of the 19th Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) ministerial meeting, also calling the bilateral ties “promising”.

During the meeting, the Iranian minister expressed gratitude towards Saudi officials for facilitating the affairs and peaceful return of Iranian pilgrims who performed the Hajj rituals. In turn, El-Khereiji expressed his condolences for the passing of President Ebrahim Raisi, highlighting that the Iranian people will overcome this situation through the success of the presidential election.

With bin Farhan, he also discussed the continuous crimes committed by "Israel" against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the besieged Gaza Strip.

“The Zionist regime’s threats against Lebanon are in line with its crimes against Gaza’s population. The ill-thought-out occupying Israeli regime is trying to make up for its defeat in Gaza by expanding the scope of war and crimes to other regions,” Bagheri Kani said, urging all Muslim nations to call for an immediate end to Israeli crimes, threats and acts of aggression in Gaza and elsewhere in West Asia.

Shared concerns 

Bin Farhan in turn relayed that relations between both countries are consolidating and expressed delight with the discussion and negotiations between Saudi and Iranian officials outside of the ACD conference in Tehran.

He also expressed concerns about the rising tensions along the border between Lebanon and the Israeli-occupied regions in 1948 and urged to diffuse the situation. 

Both diplomats discussed ways to advance comprehensive ties between their respective nations and shared perspectives on current events in the region as well as other matters of shared interest and concern.

Last month, acting Iranian President Mohammad Mokhber thanked Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MBS) for extending condolences on the martyrdom of President Ebrahim Raisi, affirming the commitment to fostering warm Tehran-Riyadh relations.

Mokhber received a phone call from MBS, during which the Saudi Crown Prince offered his condolences on the martyrdom of Raisi and his companions in a helicopter crash.

Bin Salman underscored the significance of enhancing ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia for the broader region and the Islamic world, highlighting their pivotal roles.