Saudi Arabia Sent Messages to Iran's President: Iran Government

Saudi Arabia has sent messages to Iran’s president through the leaders of other countries, an Iranian government spokesman said on Monday, at a time of heightened tensions between the regional rivals.

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“Messages from the Saudis were presented to (Iran’s President) Hassan Rouhani from the leaders of some countries,” spokesman Ali Rabiei said, according to ILNA news agency. “If Saudi Arabia is really pursuing a change of behavior, Iran welcomes that,” he added.

Saudi Arabia’s leader Mohammed bin Salman warned in an interview broadcast on Sunday that oil prices could spike to “unimaginably high numbers” if the world doesn’t come together to deter Iran, but said he preferred a political solution to a military one.

Saudi Arabia blames Iran for an attack on two Saudi oil facilities on Sept. 14, a charge Tehran denies.

Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump approved sending American troops to bolster Saudi Arabia’s air and missile defenses after the largest-ever attack on the kingdom’s oil facilities, which Washington has also squarely blamed on Iran.

Separately, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman said that Iran is ready to hold talks with other countries, particularly the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a regional rival.

“We are ready to hold talks with countries, especially the Emirates, in a group or separately and eliminate the misunderstandings,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a weekly press conference, according to the official ministry website.