Javad Zarif
© REUTERS/Ruben SprichJavad Zarif, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran attends the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 18, 2017.
Iran and Saudi Arabia successfully worked together to solve Lebanon's political crisis last year and should be able to cooperate to help end conflicts in Syria and Yemen, Iran's foreign minister said Wednesday.

"I do not see any reason why Iran and Saudi Arabia should have hostile policies towards each other. We can in fact work together to put an end to miserable conditions of the people in Syria and Yemen and Bahrain and elsewhere in the region," Mohammad Javad Zarif told the World Economic Forum.

Saudi Arabia and Iran support opposite sides in regional conflicts in Syria and Yemen and regularly accuse each other of fomenting unrest in the Middle East.

"Iran and Saudi Arabia were able to actually stop impeding the process of the presidential election in Lebanon. We have a success story," Zarif said in Davos on Wednesday.


Iran has in the past stated that it does not want to interfere in the internal issues of other countries, especially the presidency issue in Lebanon.

Zarif's statements come despite continuous remarks by Lebanese factions that the election of President Michel Aoun was a decision made in Lebanon.

Aoun's election has ended almost three years of vacuum in the country's top Christian post, which has much crippled the Cabinet and the Parliament.


Saudi Arabia and Iran back different sides in Lebanon, with Riyadh backing the so-called March 14 coalition, while Tehran backing Hezbollah and its allies.