Iran held talks with Saudi Arabia to try to convince Riyadh it had nothing to do with unfounded US claims of a plot to kill the Saudi envoy to Washington, Tehran said according to media on Wednesday. Iran’s intelligence minister, Heydar Moslehi, travelled to Saudi Arabia on Monday to clear up “misunderstandings” created by the US allegations, foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said in a report by ISNA news agency.
“One of the issues which is of great importance is regional security issues — plots and schemes aimed at endangering relations and cooperation between regional states,” Mehmanparast was quoted as saying. “America has thrown some allegations at Iran which must be exposed as baseless and unfounded through clear and direct negotiations and to remove suspicions,” he said. The US claims — that Iranian officials were involved in using an Iranian-American car salesman to hire a Mexican drug gang to blow up the Saudi ambassador — “targeted the security and interests of both Iran and Saudi Arabia,” he said.
“These scenarios seek to ensure the interests of the Zionist regime (Israel),” Mehmanparast said. The United States made its allegations in early October and claimed it traced the supposed plot back to the Quds Force, a special operations unit of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Iran has repeatedly denied any involvement in the plot, which have strained already frayed relations with Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Press Agency reported that Moslehi met Crown Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, who is Saudi Arabia’s interior minister, and the head of the Saudi intelligence service, Mogran bin Abdel Aziz. SPA said “questions of common interest” were discussed, without disclosing details.
Moslehi’s trip to Riyadh was the first by a top Iranian official since Iran-Saudi ties took a dive following Saudi military intervention in Bahrain in March to back the Sunni regime against Shiite-led democracy protesters. Relations have further deteriorated with Riyadh accusing Tehran of interfering in neighbouring Arab states and warning that Iran’s nuclear programme could pose a threat to regio
