Iran Denies Rumors of Plans for Zarif’s Saudi Visit

In comments on Thursday, Bahram Qassemi quashed rumors that Foreign Minister Zarif is going to visit Saudi Arabia for a couple of days to perform Hajj.

A recent encounter between Zarif and his Saudi counterpart in Turkey led to rampant speculations among some media outlets that the top Iranian diplomat would make a pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Zarif and Saudi Arabia’s Adel al-Jubeir shook hands on the sidelines of an extraordinary meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Turkey’s Istanbul.

In comments following the handshake, Zarif played down controversy over the incident, describing it as a common diplomatic encounter.

"When people run into each other in such international meetings, they greet each other, especially we who have had a long experience of contact with each other as foreign ministers,” Zarif added.

The foreign minister also reiterated Iran’s preparedness to have friendly ties with all neighbors to serve the Islamic world’s interests.

Many experts have described the move as bad news for the Israeli regime, which has been seeking to aggravate tensions between Tehran and Riyadh.