Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein urged his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Tehran to “solve the security problems that occur between their countries” through dialogue.
Speaking at a joint press conference with Amir-Abdollahian in Tehran on Wednesday, Hussein said that he had “important” and “frank” talks in which he stressed that “the security of Iraq and Iran is linked to the security of the region.”
“When there is a security problem, dialogue is the way to the solution,” Hussein said, calling for “addressing these issues through diplomatic means and dialogue.”
“Doors for dialogue are open in Baghdad, and we hope that they will also be in Tehran, and that we have a dialogue on this issue,” said the Iraqi top diplomat.
“It is clear that the Iranian brothers have complaints about some security issues and points of view, which we must talk about frankly so that they are resolved through diplomatic means,” added Hussein.
It is noteworthy that this is the first meeting between Hussein and Amir-Abdollahian after Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards bombed on March 13 a site in the outskirts of Erbil, the capital of the Iraqi Kurdistan region.
In turn, the Iraqi News Agency reported that Hussein and Amir-Abdollahian “discussed regional relations and the Iranian-Saudi dialogue.”
“The Iranian-Saudi dialogue is continuing and is still within the framework of international representatives,” said Hussein while stressing Iraq’s role in bringing the visions closer between the Iranian and Saudi sides.
The state-run ISNA news agency quoted Hussein as saying that he hopes “the dialogue between Iran and Saudi Arabia will resume soon.”
For his part, Amir-Abdollahian revealed that a preliminary agreement has been reached on releasing the Iranian assets currently frozen in a foreign bank due to US sanctions, the official news agency IRNA reported.
He added that a foreign delegation had negotiated on Tuesday with officials from the Central Bank of Iran and the Foreign Ministry to make the arrangements.
An initial agreement has been achieved on the timing and method of releasing the assets, the Iranian foreign minister noted.
