Top Iran diplomat says talks with Saudis could restore ties

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — Iran’s foreign minister says talks with regional rival Saudi Arabia are continuing and could eventually restore diplomatic relations that were severed years ago. Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters in Beirut on Friday that he met with his Saudi counterpart during a conference in Jordan last month. It was the highest-level encounter between the two countries since they cut relations seven years ago. Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia and Iran, which is majority Shiite, have been at odds since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, but relations worsened after Riyadh in 2016 executed a leading Shiite cleric.