Saudi prince: Relations with Iran are good

Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Aziz on Wednesday in Jeddah met with the Iranian minister of the interior, Abdullah Nouri, and members of his accompanying delegation.

Meanwhile, Saudi Minister of the Interior Prince Nayef Bin Abdul Aziz on Monday expressed satisfaction over the developing relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and he denied news that Iranian pilgrims were harassed in Saudi Arabia.

In a press conference held in Mecca on the occasion of al-Haj (pilgrimage) season, he said, "There are thousands of pilgrims... We deal with Iranian pilgrims the way we do with other pilgrims."

The chairman of the Iranian pilgrimage mission Ayatollah Muhammad Rishahri said on March 25 that Iranian pilgrims were recently harassed and insulted. The prince continued that, "Relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran are good and normal," adding that he has not yet met with Nouri, who has been in Saudi Arabia since Wednesday.

There has been a flurry of diplomatic activities and visits between the two countries in recent months in which officials from both sides have expressed that ties between them are getting stronger.