Peace talks: Iran asks Saudi Arabia to help with oil export and US sanctions

In a recent round of peace talks, Iran has reportedly asked Saudi Arabia to help sell its oil and get rid of the US sanctions in exchange for limiting Houthi attacks on the kingdom’s oil facilities, the Middle East Eye quoted Iraqi officials involved in the negotiations taking place in Baghdad, as saying.

The countries have had strained relations for decades, but their ties stooped to new lows when they cut diplomatic ties in 2016.

However, thanks to a significant shift in Riyadh’s foreign policy, the long-standing regional rivals began a series of direct talks in the Iraqi capital last month.

Their goal, “to end the state of conflict and incitement waged by the institutions associated with both countries at all levels.”

According to the Middle East Eye, the two sides held a new round of secret dialogues last week in the presence of a limited number of Iraqi officials, whose job was to contribute to the convergence of views and moisten the atmosphere.

Yemen war was the most discussed topic during the four-hour meeting that took place in Baghdad last week. The Saudis sought the guarantee that the attacks on oil facilities would end.

Houthi rebels have targeted the oil facilities almost daily since the former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear agreement in 2018 and reimposed wide-ranging sanctions on Tehran.

Meanwhile, Iran focused to circumvent the US sanctions that have hurt its economy very badly.

They specifically asked Saudi Arabia to help them sell their oil once again in the international market, the sources told MEE.

“They offered to sell it to the Saudis at a price lower than international prices on the condition that the Saudis sell it on the world markets in their own way.”

Iran currently sells its oil indirectly, mainly through the United Arab Emirates and Oman, to bypass the US embargo on its exports. Saudi Arabia could be an ideal option for Tehran as Riyadh leads the OPAC group, Iraqi officials said.