In this March 12, 2018 photo, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, right, shakes hands with former Pakistan's adviser on foreign affairs Sartaj Aziz in Islamabad, Pakistan. Iran’s foreign minister has wrapped up a trip to Pakistan in which he made a surprise offer to let Islamabad take part in a major port project funded by Pakistan’s archrival India. (AP Photo/B.K. Bangash)
March 13, 2018 - 10:02 PM
ISLAMABAD - Iran's foreign minister has expressed a willingness to resolve differences with Saudi Arabia as part of Tehran's desire for stability in the region.
Mohammad Javad Zarif says Tehran had also expressed willingness to improve ties with Saudi Arabia when Pakistan's former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif visited Iran during the Yemen crisis, but the Kingdom's response was not warm.
Zarif made his remarks in an interview with Pakistan's Geo television late Tuesday.
Zarif is in Islamabad this week for a three-day visit that ends Wednesday.
Pakistan and Iran have had close ties in the past but recent regional alignments and Pakistan's tilt toward Saudi Arabia perturbed Iran, particularly the assignment of a Pakistani former army chief to head a Saudi-led 39-nation Islamic military coalition to combat terrorism.
News from © The Associated Press, 2018