No Iran-US talks on regional issues: Official

A senior Iranian official says talks between Tehran and Washington are limited to the Islamic Republic’s nuclear issue, noting that Iran would discuss regional issues only with its neighbors.

“Iran’s talks with six countries (world powers) are merely focused on Iran’s peaceful nuclear issue and we have no negotiations with the US about the issues of the [Middle East] region,” Hossien Amir Abdollahian, Iran’s deputy foreign minister for Arab and African affairs, said on Thursday.

He said regional issues could be resolved only with the contribution of all countries in the region, adding, “The regional countries, including Saudi Arabia, can play a pivotal role in assisting peace, stability and security in the region.”

“We have dialog and cooperation with our neighbors and friends in the region on security, stability and sustainable development of the region,” Amir-Abdollahian said.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have been at odds over some major regional issues, with the most notable of them being the ongoing conflict in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia and a number of its allies have been launching deadly airstrikes on the impoverished Arab nation for the past two and a half months. Nearly 2,000 people have been killed and 7,330 injured due to the conflict in Yemen since March 19, according to the United Nation.

Amir-Abdollahian described Saudi Arabia’s military operations against Yemen as “unhelpful” and noted that the they would intensify extremism and terrorism and would fuel flames of sectarian strife.