Kuwait says relayed Iran’s messages to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain

Kuwait’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarallah said on Tuesday that “until now no answers have emerged” to Tehran’s messages, without elaborating on the content or the time they had been delivered to Riyadh and Manama.

Tensions have been running high in the Persian Gulf region after the United States and its Arab allies blamed Iran for a set of suspicious raids targeting oil tankers in May and June as well as Yemen’s retaliatory attacks on key Saudi oil installations in September.

Taking advantage of the attacks, which Tehran views as false flag operations, the US has been trying to persuade its allies to join a naval mission purportedly aimed at protecting shipping lanes in Middle Eastern waterways.

Tehran has repeatedly denounced foreign intervention as the source of tensions in the Persian Gulf region, urging its allies to join hands and help ensure the region’s safety without reliance on outsiders.

In an address to the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in September 25, President Hassan Rouhani said as a steward of maritime security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, Iran invites all countries that are affected by developments in the strategic region to join Hormuz Peace Endeavor (HOPE).

Iran to US: Leave job of ensuring ME security to neighborsIran says the US is not welcome in the region and must leave it as neighbors not outsiders can themselves ensure the security of the Persian Gulf.

The initiative aims to promote peace, stability, progress and prosperity of littoral states and help achieve mutual understanding and establish peaceful and friendly relations among the neighbors, he said.

Recently, Kuwait’s al-Jarida daily quoted an unnamed Iranian Foreign Ministry source as saying that Rouhani had detailed the HOPE initiative in letters sent via Kuwait to Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Bahrain’s King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifah.

Speaking on Monday, Iranian government spokesperson Ali Rabiei also confirmed that Tehran had sent letters to the two kingdoms.

“The basis of the letters was regional peace and stability,” he said. “We believe that multiple bilateral ties could be established in the region and that US pressure should not drive a wedge between neighbors.”

Late last month, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said he was ready to visit Saudi Arabia to help reduce tensions between the two sides if suitable conditions existed.

Also officials of Iraq and Pakistan said, the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, had asked the leaders of those two countries to speak with their Iranian counterparts about de-escalation.