DUBAI: Saudi Arabia wants to resume diplomatic talks with Tehran, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told a news conference on Monday a day after Iraq’s prime minister pushed for a revival of talks between the regional rivals.

Iran and Saudi Arabia, the leading Shia and Sunni Muslim powers in the Middle East, severed ties in 2016, with both parties backing allies fighting proxy wars across the region, from Yemen to Syria and elsewhere.

Top EU diplomat due in Tehran on Friday for talks

The fifth round of talks between the regional rivals were held in April.