Iran invites Kuwait to negotiate over joint gas field

Iran's ambassador to Kuwait, Mohammad Irani, told the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai on Thursday evening that Iran had sent a formal request to the Kuwaiti side to negotiate  Arash/al-Durra, which is a joint gas field between Iran, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.

Irani added that Iranian Foreign Minister Amir-Abdollahian had also spoken by telephone with his Kuwaiti counterpart in order to resume the talks in Tehran.

He also referred to the relations between Iran and the Persian Gulf littoral states and said that Iran has repeatedly expressed its readiness to negotiate with all the countries bordering the Persian Gulf on any unresolved issues in the region.

Asked about the possibility of an imminent meeting between the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia, the Iranian ambassador said, "We have to wait for the outcome of the sixth round of talks [held last month between the two countries in Iraq] because this round will determine whether the meeting is close or we too optmistic."