Washington welcomes news of direct talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia, official says
The U.S. welcomes the news of direct communication between Middle Eastern rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, a Biden administration official told CNBC on Monday.
“Our regional partners, first of all, like the UAE, are absolutely critical to us as partners in economics, in regional security, in mutual cooperation,” Jennifer Gavito, deputy assistant secretary for Iran and Iraq at the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, told CNBC’s Dan Murphy in Dubai.
“And so we welcome their contributions to regional stability. With regard to the announcement of direct talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran, we welcome that. We welcome any direct talks that lead to greater peace and stability in the region.”
The discussion took place at the Dubai Expo, the Persian Gulf city’s six-month long mega-event that it hopes will boost tourism and investment and further raise its global profile.
Gavito was the highest-ranking U.S. official to attend the event thus far.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan al-Saud confirmed over the weekend that the first talks between the kingdom and Iran’s new government had taken place, saying that the latest round happened on Sept. 21.
“These discussions are still in the exploratory phase. We hope they will provide a basis to address unresolved issues between the two sides and we will strive and work to realize that,” he said during a news conference Sunday.
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