RIYADH, 15 November 2021, (TON): Top Saudi diplomat said “Saudi Arabia will continue to hold talks with Iran and an additional round of negotiations between the regional rivals was expected soon.”

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud told France 24 television that four previous rounds of talks were merely “exploratory” rather than substantial, but said both sides were committed to engagement.

But he expressed strong reservations about Iran's nuclear negotiations which are set to resume in a few weeks, citing Tehran's past "deception" about its nuclear activities.

The foreign minister also denied reports that Saudi Arabia was withdrawing troops from Yemen. The situation was deadlocked militarily and diplomatically, he said, lamenting that the Houthis had not agreed to a Saudi proposal for a ceasefire earlier this year.

'No purpose in engaging Lebanon at this time'

The foreign minister said that the kingdom does not plan to engage with the Lebanese government at this time.

Lebanon is facing its worst diplomatic crisis yet with Gulf states, spurred by a minister's critical comments about the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen that prompted Riyadh to expel Lebanon's ambassador, recall its own envoy and ban all imports from Lebanon.