President Rouhani to discuss Persian Gulf states' message in Oman, Kuwait

President Hassan Rouhani says his talks in Oman and Kuwait will focus, among other issues, on a message recently relayed to Tehran by Kuwait City on relations between the Islamic Republic and the Persian Gulf Arab countries.

According to Press TV, ahead of his departure for the Omani capital, Muscat, on Wednesday, President Rouhani said Iran welcomed the message, in which the six littoral states of the Persian Gulf had expressed their willingness for the resolution of misunderstandings and promotion of ties through dialogue.

On January 25, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Sabah al-Khalid al-Hamad Aal-e Sabah traveled to Tehran, bearing a letter from the country’s emir on behalf of the Persian Gulf littoral states seeking to fix ties with Tehran.

The visit was the first one to take place by a senior official from the region since early 2016, when ties between Iran and several Arab monarchies started to suffer amid the confrontational approach taken by the new Saudi rulers vis-à-vis the Islamic Republic.

President Rouhani further touched on his trip to Oman and Kuwait, saying he is set to discuss the message with officials of the two nations, which are members of the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC).

The situation in Iraq, Syria and Yemen is also on the agenda of the talks in Oman and Kuwait, said the Iranian president, adding the Persian Gulf Arab states can play a significant role in helping end the bloodshed in the three states, particularly Yemen. 

“The Islamic Republic of Iran’s policy is based on good-neighborly relations and security of the Persian Gulf. Iran has never been after invasion, neither [has it sought] intervention in the internal affairs of [another] country or imposition of its religious and political beliefs,” he said.

President Rouhani reiterated Iran’s position that the security of Persian Gulf should be protected by the regional countries without the “detrimental” presence of outsiders.

He called for a stronger unity among Muslim nations and the elimination of “the gap fabricated by the big powers between Shia and Sunni [Islam]," adding Shias and Sunnis have peacefully coexisted for centuries.

SS