Saudi, Iranian foreign ministers discuss regional developments

By Ibrahim Khazen and Rania Abu Shamala
RIYADH (AA) – The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran held talks on Wednesday to discuss developments in the Middle East.
A Saudi Foreign Ministry statement said Prince Faisal bin Farhan had a phone call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi to discuss regional developments and efforts to address them.
The Middle East region has seen rising tensions since Israel’s genocidal war on the Gaza Strip which has killed more than 48,300 people, mostly women and children, since October 2023.
The conflict has spread to the Red Sea where the Iran-backed Houthi group in Yemen launched drone and missile attacks against Israeli cargo ships or ones linked with Tel Aviv in a show of support for Gaza.
The Israeli war on Gaza has been brought to a halt under a ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement that took hold last month.
Last November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.