Kuwait welcomes prospects for cooperation between Iran, PG Arab states

Kuwaiti Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarallah has welcomed prospects for cooperation between Iran and the Persian Gulf Arab countries to help resolve conflicts in the region.

Dialogue between Iran and the Persian Gulf Arab countries would "contribute effectively to containment of many areas of tension in the region, whether in Yemen or in Syria or anywhere else in our region," Kuwait's state news agency, KUNA, quoted Jarallah as saying at a reception at Iran's embassy in the Arab country.

"This is indeed what we are looking for,” the Kuwaiti official added, noting that dialogue would serve the interests of both Iran and those of the Persian Gulf Arab countries.

The senior Kuwaiti diplomat made the comments in response to Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s comments on the country's relations with regional states, including those in the Persian Gulf region.

In remarks made in a Tuesday interview with Iranian daily Ettela’at, Zarif said Iran was ready for cooperation with all countries, especially its neighbors.

“The policy of the Islamic Republic of Iran is based on constructive cooperation with all, particularly the neighboring countries. And once our neighbors accept the fact that we need to cooperate given the commonalities our nations share, including history and geography, and the common threats facing us all, the region will have a true partner like Iran,” Zarif said.  

He referred to a letter sent last month to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani by the Kuwaiti emir on relations between Iran and the Persian Gulf Arab countries, and said Tehran hoped the message would indicate the Persian Gulf states’ "resolve" for cooperation.

“We hope that the Kuwaiti emir's message, in which he expressed his readiness and that of the other rulers of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council, will show [their] firm determination. In that case, Iran will demonstrate that resolve too,” he said, stressing that all should look to a different future.

On January 25, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Hamad al-Sabah paid a visit to Iran to deliver Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Jaber al-Sabah's message to President Rouhani.

The Kuwaiti diplomat’s one-day visit to Iran was the first by a senior official of a Persian Gulf Arab state to the Islamic Republic after relations between Tehran and some of the Arab countries of the strategic region became tense when Saudi Arabia unilaterally severed its diplomatic ties with Iran.

Read more:

• Kuwait FM in Iran as PG Arabs seek to mend ties
• Iran's power serves regional stability, security'

On Tehran-Riyadh relations, Zarif again stressed that the two countries could work together once the Arab kingdom changed its policy.

We are ready for dialogue once they change their view and come to the conclusion that fueling violence and extremism in Syria and Yemen is not in their interests, the top Iranian diplomat said.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk