Where is Rouhani, Zarif Next Destination?

During a little over a month of presidency, Hassan Rouhani has had two important foreign visits.

During his second visit, something unprecedented after the Revolution happened: a phone call from Obama was the first US high-ranking contact with Hassan Rouhani as Iran’s president. Rouhani will probably have other important visits. Mainly focused upon improving relations with countries to boost the living quality for Iranians inside, through diplomatic means and after attending UN General Assembly and Shanghai, now Rouhani would probably visit Saudi Arabia in mid-October.

It seems likely that Rouhani is dissolute to improve the level of relations with Saudi Arabia, which, according to president himself, has close historical, cultural, and regional ties with Iran. During Ahmadinejad’s presidency, Iran-Saudi relations suffered from hostility, with the results such as US-Saudi shared scenario- fake story of Saudi ambassador assassination at the US- and execution of Iranian prisoners in Saudi Arabia.

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia enjoyed cordial relations with Ayatollah Hashemi, and thanked to Rouhani’s visits from Saudi Arabia during Hashemi’s presidency, Saudi Arabia was among the first countries to receive the message of elections’ result in Iran and sent congratulations to Rouhani for being elected. Later among the Hajj officials Rouhani had hints to this message, he addressed them saying that he and the Saudi King were interested to eliminate some minor tensions in “our relations as a step forward to protect our common interests and even the interests of the Islamic world.”

Rouhani has expressed his pride that first security agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia has his signature; and at his first press conference, emphasized on relaxing the tensions with Saudi Arabia, when he told reporters that “the government’s foreign policy priority will be friendly relations with neighboring countries. We are neighbors with Persian Gulf countries and brethren with Saudi Arabia; Muslim’s prayer Qiblah is located in Saudi Arabia; we have close historical, regional and cultural ties; and hundreds of thousands of Iranians travel to Saudi Arabia for Hajj pilgrimage, and also Saudi nationals travel to Iran regularly. It is my pleasure that I have signed the first security agreement with Saudi Arabia. God willing, in future [present] government we will excellent relations with the neighbors especially with Saudi Arabia.”

A few days before New York visit, media reported that Saudi King has invited Rouhani for Hajj. The story first appeared in Almayadeen Network as “King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz has invited Iran’s Hassan Rouhani for Hajj and Rouhani has accepted it.” Iran’s Hajj Organization announced that “if the news is confirmed by the president’s office, the Organization will make necessary arrangements according to its missions in coordination with president’s office.”

The story was almost eclipsed by news from New York, but Amir Abdollahian, Deputy FM in a program in Al-Alam, raised the probability of Rouhani’s visit from Saudi Arabia again, saying that in talks with Saudi officials, “we agreed that the two countries play crucial roles in region politics and our cooperation could help to solve major issues in the region and the Islamic world.”

Dr. Rouhani sent a congratulation message to Saudi King for Saudi Arabian National Day; Jahangiri, First Deputy, did the same to Saudi Crown Prince; and Zarif also send message to his Saudi counterpart. Tehran welcomes any innovation for cooperation and negotiation which helps to improve bilateral relations with Saudi Arabia.

In 2005, Hassan Rouhani, the Supreme National Security Council Secretary, visited King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, and he is not such an unknown figure among Saudi officials. Later he also has visited Riyadh again. His serious decision to restore relations with countries long in misconception about Iran has a Saudi visit imminent. If Rouhani goes for Hajj in mid-October, his Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will be in Genève for nuclear talks with P5+1, to be held on October 14.