As he urged Saudi Arabia to work with Iran for the stability of the region, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif voiced readiness to visit the Gulf state.

As he urged Saudi Arabia to work with Iran for the stability of the region, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif voiced readiness to visit the Gulf state.

"I believe that our relations with Saudi Arabia should expand as we consider Saudi Arabia as an extremely important country in the region and the Islamic world," Zarif said during a stopover in Muscat as part of a tour he began in Kuwait.

"We believe that Iran and Saudi Arabia should work together in order to promote peace and stability in the region."
"I am ready to go to Saudi Arabia, but it is just a matter of being able to arrange a mutually convenient time. I will visit it soon inshallah (God willing),” the Iranian top diplomat added.

Zarif is expected to arrive in Qatar later Monday for an unscheduled visit, an Iranian diplomat in Doha told AFP.

"He will arrive in Doha on Monday and will hold talks with Qatari officials," the source said.

After his election in July, Iran's President Sheikh Hasan Rouhani said he hoped to improve relations with neighboring countries, especially Gulf states.
Zarif said in Kuwait City that Iran was looking to open a new page in relations with the Gulf.