Iran Working to Secure Release of Citizen Detained in Saudi Arabia: Minister
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian says his ministry is working hard to secure the release of an Iranian citizen detained in Saudi Arabia during the Hajj pilgrimage.
The Iranian Minister said he hopes the issue can be resolved with Saudi cooperation.
Amirabdollahian briefed the father of detained Iranian national Khalil Dardmand on the measures taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since he was arrested by Saudi forces in the holy city of Mecca last month during a meeting in Tehran on Thursday evening.
The top Iranian diplomat expressed optimism that Dardmand would be returned to Iran with the help of Saudi authorities.
On August 4, Amirabdollahian called his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein and demanded the release of an Iranian citizen detained in Saudi Arabia during the Hajj pilgrimage.
During the conversation, the Iranian foreign minister urged Hussein to investigate the case of Dardmand and to convey a message for his release, as Iraq has hosted several rounds of talks between representatives from Iran and Saudi Arabia as part of diplomatic rapprochement.
Last month, Iran's top diplomat praised Iraq's "constructive" role in advancing regional dialogue and stated that the last five rounds of talks with Saudi Arabia had resulted in "progress."
Amirabdollahian said he told Iraqi mediators that Tehran is ready for a new political and security phase with Riyadh, expressing hope that the measure would “eventually lead to normalization between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran in January 2016 after Iranian protesters, enraged by the Saudi execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, stormed its embassy in Tehran.
The kingdom then pursued a confrontational foreign policy toward the Islamic Republic, especially during the administration of former US president Donald Trump, with whom the Saudi rulers shared close ties.
Recently, Saudi Arabia has shown willingness through diplomatic channels and third parties to mend fences with Tehran and resume bilateral relations.
The two neighbors also remain deeply divided over a set of regional issues, mainly the Saudi war on Yemen.