Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) has asked new Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi to mediate between the Saudi kingdom and Iran, senior Iraqi political sources have told Middle East Eye.

“The first call Kadhimi got after his nomination was from the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, who asked the new Iraqi prime minister to restart mediation with Iran, the sources said,” Middle East Eye reported on Thursday. 

The Saudi crown prince said in an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes program aired on September 29 that he preferred a peaceful resolution with Iran, describing it as “much better than the military” option.

Kadhimi formally took office on May 7.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have been at loggerheads over a number of issues including the Saudi war on Yemen and Riyadh’s support for Donald Trump’s anti-Iran moves.

Saudi Foreign Minister Farhan Al Saud told Reuters on January 22 that Riyadh was open to talks with Tehran. However, he leveled some accusations against Iran. The Saudi minister said Iran should act like a normal country. In response, Zarif said a normal country does not invade its neighbors, an open reference to the Saudi-led war on Yemen.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has welcomed a readiness by Tehran and Riyadh to hold dialogue to reduce tensions.

“We call for clearing up misunderstanding between two brotherly countries of Iran and Saudi Arabia,” IRNA quoted him as saying on January 24 on the sidelines of a press conference in Islamabad.

NA/PA