Dubai: Qatar’s Emir called for good neighbourly relations between Gulf Arabs and Iran in a telephone call with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Qatar media reported, amid fresh strains between regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran over Haj.
Tensions have been rising since Gulf Arab allies cut or downgraded ties with Iran in January following the storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran, after the Saudi execution of a Shiite cleric.
Harsh exchanges in recent days between Saudi Arabia and Iran over Riyadh’s running of the Haj have further heightened emotions, after the two countries failed to agree on arrangements to allow Iranian pilgrims to take part.
State news agency QNA said Emir Shaikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani telephoned Rouhani to offer greetings for the Muslim Eid Al Adha feast which Muslims began celebrating on Monday.
It said he “asserted that Gulf-Iranian relations must focus on the principles of good neighbourly relations, mutual respect and the need to resolve any Gulf-Iranian differences through dialogue and negotiations”.
Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Shaikh Abdul Aziz Al Al Shaikh, the kingdom’s top religious authority, last week described Iran’s leaders as not Muslims, after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei criticised Saudi Arabia over a crush at the Haj last year that killed at least 700 pilgrims.
Saudi Arabia and revolutionary theocracy of Iran support opposite sides in regional conflicts in Syria and Yemen and have regularly accused each other of fomenting unrest in the Middle East.
