Saudi FM says Iran must change its ‘behaviour’

Meanwhile, Iran President Hassan Rouhani, who is visiting Pakistan, refuted claims of the Pakistan army that its chief General Raheel Sharif had discussed the alleged RAW involvement in Islamabad’s internal affairs with him.

Like our Facebook Page to get more unbelievable content from us. Rouhani said Iran was also interested to have connectivity between Gawadar and Chahbahar seaports through roads and shipping lines for a win-win situation to both the countries.

According to the army statement, the Iranian president praised Pakistan’s army and its achievements in ongoing operations against Taliban militants in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal belt, which borders Afghanistan.

Rouhani said that Iran would be responsible for the provision of Pakistan’s energy security and has fulfilled its responsibility in the area of electricity and gas.

The two leaders, however, did not mention a highly-anticipated multibillion-dollar Pakistan-Iran natural gas pipeline project in which Tehran has already invested over $2 billion, while Pakistan has yet to complete construction of its half of the pipeline.

Pakistan’s Director General of Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Lt. Gen. Asim Bajwa, shared the text of Army Chief General Raheel Sharif’s meeting with the Iranian President.

Rouhani making it clear Iran would not like to take sides on the issues between the two neighbouring countries comes against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s expected to visit to Iran sometime soon this year.

Dubbed the “peace pipeline”, the project has faced repeated delays since it was conceived in the 1990s to connect Iran’s giant South Pars gas field to India via Pakistan.

Pakistan, a majority Sunni country, has traditionally close ties with Saudi Arabia, which is hostile to Iran, a Shia power.

During the meeting, he said that Pakistan and Iran have simultaneously come out of the period of challenges and calamity. He expressed his optimism of increasing the bilateral trade to the volume of $5 billion.

Rouhani referred to the nuclear deal between Iran and the world powers, saying Zionists in the US, Europe, and the Middle East want to sabotage the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. He said they talked about issues relating to energy, gas and export of electricity.