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Saudi Arabia: Iranian Defense Minister Is Invited Saudi Arabia: Iranian Defense Minister Is Invited
(35 minutes later)
Saudi Arabia has invited Iran’s foreign minister to visit, Saudi officials said Tuesday, a move that would hint at the possibility of a thaw between two bitter rivals. The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said at a news conference that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had been invited but did not say when, or if Iran had formally responded. Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, has adopted a conciliatory tone toward its neighbors since taking office last year, but while Mr. Zarif has visited other Arab gulf states, he has not been to Saudi Arabia. Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran have long supported competing factions in Arab countries, often along sectarian lines. Saudi Arabia has invited Iran’s foreign minister to visit, Saudi officials said Tuesday, a move that would hint at the possibility of a thaw between two bitter rivals. The Saudi foreign minister, Prince Saud al-Faisal, said at a news conference that Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif had been invited but did not say when, or if, Iran had formally responded. Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, has adopted a conciliatory tone toward its neighbors since taking office last year, but while Mr. Zarif has visited other Arab gulf states, he has not been to Saudi Arabia.