Saudi official confirms talks with Iran, says too early to assess outcome

A Saudi foreign ministry official said on Friday that talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran aim to reduce regional tensions but that it was too early to judge the outcome and Riyadh wanted to see “verifiable deeds”.

The comments by Ambassador Rayed Krimly, head of policy planning at the ministry, were the first public confirmation from Riyadh that the rivals were holding direct talks.

“We hope they prove successful, but it is too early, and premature, to reach any definitive conclusions,” Krimly told Reuters.