Iran: Agreement with Saudi Arabia Will Help Resolve Regional Crises, Including Yemen

Iranians read the headlines of Saturday morning newspapers (Reuters)
Iranians read the headlines of Saturday morning newspapers (Reuters)
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Iran: Agreement with Saudi Arabia Will Help Resolve Regional Crises, Including Yemen

Iranians read the headlines of Saturday morning newspapers (Reuters)
Iranians read the headlines of Saturday morning newspapers (Reuters)

Iranian officials had various responses to the sudden resumption of relations with Saudi Arabia, despite the agreement among all that it was a positive development.

Members of the parliament hoped the agreement with Riyadh would lead to a solution to the region's crises, including in Yemen, warning at the same time to return to square one.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said that reviving relations with Saudi Arabia is an essential step in the framework of stability in the region and the Gulf and boosting regional political and economic cooperation.

Qalibaf reiterated the importance of respecting other states' sovereignty and non-interference in their internal affairs, hoping that "constructive decisions" would be adopted concerning regional issues, especially in Yemen, Palestine, and Lebanon.

State-owned ISNA reported that the agreement came ten months after the fifth round of security dialogues between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Iraq and Oman.

The agency pointed out that few expected progress in these negotiations, amid other developments in the issues with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agreement or reports about the possible release of US-Iranian detainees through Omani mediation.

ISNA noted that if all goes well, the agreement will significantly reduce regional tensions, including resolving the Yemen crisis and would provide the basis for resuming relations between several Gulf countries, including Bahrain.

The rapprochement would also lead to normalizing relations with Egypt, reducing tensions in Lebanon because of its ties with Tehran, and the improvement of Syrian relations with Arab countries.

However, the agency warned that if the areas and foundations of the previous measures between the two countries were not reviewed, it was possible that the relations could return to square one.

It described the recent rapprochement as a positive and promising development for the two countries, the West Asian region, and the Islamic world. Still, it cautioned that the effectiveness of this agreement should not be exaggerated.

The agency indicated that Iranian-Saudi relations need to establish bilateral mechanisms and pillars by boosting economic and trade cooperation and creating tangible interests.

The head of the internal parliamentary committee, Mohammed Saleh Jokar, said the agreement would lead to an excellent political and economic position in the West Asian region.

He said that the geostrategic location of these two countries could play an influential role at the regional and international levels.

Meanwhile, the former head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, indicated that the rapprochement with Saudi Arabia is appropriate to get out of the political impasse, adding that it was possible to reach an agreement without mediation and not be indebted to any party.

He hoped the two parties would abide by the agreement, adding that it should be considered a good omen and would impact the revival of the nuclear deal.

For his part, the director of the office of former President Hassan Rouhani, Mahmoud Vaezi, said that the agreement under China's auspices was a continuation of the negotiations that began between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Iraq and Oman.

Vaezi added that the extremist attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran in January 2016 ruined the relations between the two countries and tarnished Iran's international image.

Iranian media also reported the new developments, with reformist Shargh daily saying it was the end of a seven-year impasse.

Kayhan newspaper, affiliated with the Iranian Supreme Leader's office, addressed the reformists, saying their advocates must learn to negotiate.

Sazandegi newspaper, the mouthpiece of the faction of former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, said that the agreement is "a return to Rafsanjani's strategy."



Trump and Putin Will Speak This Week on Russia-Ukraine War, US Envoy Says

 Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
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Trump and Putin Will Speak This Week on Russia-Ukraine War, US Envoy Says

 Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin listens to Venezuela's President Nicolás Maduro during their talks via videoconference at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia, Friday, March 14, 2025. (Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to speak this week as the US tries to broker a ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war, according to Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff.

It would be the second publicized call between the two leaders since Trump began his second term in January. Trump and Putin spoke in February and agreed to start high-level talks over ending the war in Ukraine.

“I think the two presidents are going to have a really good and positive discussion this week,” Witkoff said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Witkoff this week met with Putin in Russia for talks aimed at ending the country’s invasion of Ukraine and said he expects to see a deal soon.

“The president uses the timeframe weeks and I don’t disagree with him. I am really hopeful that we are going to see some real progress here,” Witkoff said.

When Witkoff appeared later Sunday on CBS' “Face the Nation,” he again spoke about a prospective Putin-Trump call but did not offer specifics on what decisions might be made coming out of the discussion.

Witkoff said they forged a relationship in Trump’s first term and that he expects the call this week to be “very positive and constructive.”

Trump's first call to Putin came after Witkoff traveled to Russia to bring home Marc Fogel, an American history teacher the US had deemed wrongfully detained.

One day after the prisoner swap, Trump announced that he spoke to Putin and said their call was “lengthy and highly productive.”

Witkoff demurred on whether Putin and Trump will decide in the call to move forward with a US-proposed 30-day ceasefire. Ukraine has agreed to the deal. Putin has said he agrees in principle with the proposal but there are details to be worked out.

“President Trump is the ultimate decision maker, our decision maker, and President Putin, for the country of Russia, is their decision maker,” Witkoff said. “I think it’s a very positive sign that the two of them will be talking at some point. I think that’s showing that there’s positive momentum.”

Witkoff also brushed aside a recent assessment from French President Emmanuel Macron, who said in a statement that Russia “does not seem to be sincerely seeking peace” and that Putin was intensifying the fighting before negotiating.

Witkoff said he was not aware of Macron's comments but said, “it’s unfortunate when people make those sort of assessments” when “they don’t have necessarily firsthand knowledge.”

“I know what I heard, the body language I witnessed,” Witkoff said of his meeting with Putin. “I saw a constructive effort, over a long period of time to discuss the specifics of what’s going on in the field.”