Saudi relations with Iran are not contradictory with US relations

Saudi Defense and Aviation Minister Prince Sultan Bin Abdul Aziz has asserted that his country's good relations with the US are not contradictory to its developing relations with Iran.

In a statement to the Kuwaiti daily al-Rai' al-Am issued on Monday in Kuwait, the Saudi minister said the Saudi and Iranian sides have the political will and the determination to foster relations for further cooperation and coordination.

For his part, Iranian First Vice President Hassan Habibi has described the visit of the Saudi minister to Tehran as a "manifestation of the qualitative turning point for relations linking the two Muslim countries and peoples."

In similar statements to the Kuwaiti daily, the Iranian vice president said that talks between the two states have "exceeded protocols to deal with deeper issues of mutual concern."

Habibi denied any Saudi mediation on the islands under dispute with the United Arab Emirates.