No meetings between Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers scheduled for foreseeable future, says Saudi official

No meetings between Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers scheduled for foreseeable future, says Saudi official
No meetings have been scheduled between the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers in the foreseeable future, said an official from the Saudi foreign ministry on Thursday.
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Predominantly Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran are engaged in proxy conflicts across the Middle East [source: Getty]

No meeting between Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers has been scheduled in the foreseeable future, an official from the Saudi foreign ministry said on Thursday, adding that some progress has been made in talks with Teheran but "it's not enough".

Iran foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said earlier on Thursday that he may meet his Saudi counterpart soon in a third country.

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"Iran must build confidence for future cooperation, and there are several issues that can be discussed with Teheran if it has the desire to de-escalate tensions in the region," the official told Reuters

Predominantly Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, which are locked in proxy conflicts around the region, started direct talks last year to try to contain tensions.

Saudi Arabia and Iran have backed opposing sides in regional conflicts and political disputes in SyriaLebanon and Iraq for years, and Saudi Arabia has led an Arab coalition waging war against the Iran-aligned Houthi movement in Yemen since 2015.