Rouhani: Iran not favour elevation of tensions with Saudi Arabia

President Rouhani spoke to Pakistani media in a press conference in Islamabad at the end of his two-day trip to Pakistan and explained plans and achievements of the trip, as well as Iran’s readiness to strengthen and deepen ties with Pakistan.

In this conference which was held late on Saturday, Dr Rouhani expressed hope that relations and cooperation between the two countries become further developed day by day.

On agreements on energy and delivering Iran’s natural gas to Pakistan, he added: “Today, the gas pipeline has been completed from the Iranian part to the borders of Pakistan and the rest should be completed on the country’s soil”.

President Rouhani also stressed cooperation in the fields of ports, customs, shipping, road and rail connections and developing cultural and academic cooperation with regard to Persian language in Pakistan, as well as scientific and technological cooperation.

Referring to common projects such as delivering natural gas to Pakistan, he said: “In the coming months, we will be able to deliver any amount of natural gas that Pakistan needs”.

“If the two ports”, he said referring to Chabahar and Gwadar ports, “be connected with each other, all East Asia countries, including China, will benefit from it”.

“We discussed regional issues with Pakistani officials and we share viewpoints on solving the issues that the region is facing” he added.

Dr Rouhani continued: “JCPOA agreement can be a model in this field and we can use it to solve other issues in the region”.

On Syrian peace talks and tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, he also said: “Syria is grappling with terrorism and steps have been taken in this regard. Disagreements should be solved through discussion. There were discords between Iran and Saudi Arabia with regard to ISIS and other groups in the past and there is the emphasis that terrorist groups should be dealt with”.

He also called for refraining from buying ISIS oil and said that all countries should participate in Syrian peace talks.

“We do not favour elevation of tensions with Saudi Arabia. Iran is a great country in the Muslim World and Saudi Arabia also has a special place” he continued.

Answering a question about instances of illegal breach of shared borders, he said: “These breaches have not been from the Iranian side, but rather, from the Pakistani soil and in this regard, there is a need for further cooperation and combatting terrorism”.

The President also described ways that Iran and Pakistan can contribute to establishing security in Afghanistan and said: “We had constructive negotiations with Mr Nawaz Sharif about Afghanistan and development of cooperation between the three countries”.

Stressing the need to close Iran-Pakistan relations for creating east and west corridor, Rouhani continued: “In post-sanctions era, we had better interactions with other countries of the world, especially our friends in the region”.



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