TEHRAN – Prominent Iranian cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani on Tuesday told Saudi King that the two neighbors should avoid extremist behavior in bilateral ties.

Rafsanjani who wrapped up his 10-day visit to Saudi Arabia with a second meeting with King Abdallah bin Abd al-Aziz Al Saud in Jeddah, called for expansion of religious and political relations with the Arab state.
“Iran and Saudi Arabia are two important Islamic countries in the region; the Islamic world’s interests require them to pursue political and religious cooperation more seriously,” the cleric stated.
The Expediency Council chairman said Tehran and Riyadh play a key role in resolving crises facing Islamic nations.
“Iran’s political will is to boost comprehensive relations with Riyadh, we hope in future we will witness further expansion of bilateral ties in all areas of interest, especially politics, economy, culture, and religion,” he stated.
Rafsanjani, who also chairs the Assembly of Experts, expressed appreciation for King Abdallah’s attention to the problems of Iranian Haj pilgrims.
King Abdallah said, “Saudi Arabia wants further bilateral relations (with Iran and we hope we will defuse some extremist anti-unity approaches through effective management.”
He welcomed talks between Iranian and Saudi religious scholars.
Elsewhere in his talks, the Saudi king criticized the U.S. policy in the Middle East, especially toward Iran.
The U.S. behavior is “contrary to the diplomatic convention.”
“We have clearly announced the U.S. our stance towards its policy,” the Saudi monarch noted