TEHRAN, Apr. 28 (MNA) – Former Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Iraq said that Iraq is interested in relationship between Islamic Republic of Iran and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

Speaking in an interview with Mehr news agency on Wed., Hassan Danaeifar stated that complexities of issues between Iran and Saudi Arabia are so high that Iraq cannot play a key role in this regard, so that negotiations must be held between officials of the two countries of Iran and Saudi Arabia to iron out the differences.

Turning to the recent visit of Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif to neighboring Iraq, he said that Iraq is one of the great and influential neighbors. Iran has direct interaction with this country in security, economic and political fields, he maintained, adding, it is necessary to follow these issues continuously and Iranian foreign minister’s visit was conducted in this direction.

Given the importance of the Islamic Republic of Iran for Iraqi diplomatic apparatus, “We will certainly witness such high-profile visit of Iraqi officials to the Islamic Republic of Iran in future.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Danaeifar pointed to the concern of Baghdad for establishing understanding between its neighbors and stated, “Establishing understanding between Iraq's neighbors has always been one of the major concerns of Iraqi government. For this reason, the issue of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia has always been put at the focal attention of Iraqi officials.”

Former Iraqi officials such as Heidar al-Abadi, Abdul Mahdi and current Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi are much interested in establishing relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, he continued.

With this justification that relationship between Iran and US will have a direct impact on the situation in Iraq, Iraqi officials are interested in pursuing relations between Iran and US as well, he added. 

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