TEHRAN, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian foreign minister said on Friday that Iran welcomes the resumption of diplomatic ties with Saudi Arabia and the reopening of embassies, the official news agency IRNA reported.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks in a joint press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib following their meeting in Beirut earlier in the day.
Commenting on the several rounds of Tehran-Riyadh rapprochement talks brokered by Baghdad, Amir-Abdollahian said the two countries have arrived at a consensus to continue their negotiations for the resumption of normal relations.
Turning to bilateral relations with Lebanon, Amir-Abdollahian voiced Iran's readiness to help meet Lebanon's energy needs, saying the country is ready to reconstruct power plants in Lebanon according to a previously-reached agreement.
Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016 in response to attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed a Shiite cleric.
To improve bilateral relations and ease regional tension, Iraq hosted four rounds of direct talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia in 2021 and a fifth round in April last year.
Last week, Iran's customs administration said the country's exports to Saudi Arabia had increased dramatically in 2022 amid the two countries' efforts to ease tensions, Iran's IRIB news agency reported.
During the period from the Iranian New Year that fell on March 21, 2022, to Nov. 1, 2022, the value of Iranian exports to Saudi Arabia reached 14.71 million dollars, a record high since the severance of the diplomatic ties. ■
