JEDDAH, 13 May — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, received letters from Iranian President Muhammad Khatami yesterday. Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi handed the letters to them at a reception in the crown prince’s office.
Kharrazi conveyed the greetings of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, President Khatami, and former President Hashemi Rafsanjani.
Earlier, Kharrazi held talks with Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency, Prince Saud denied having discussed with the visiting minister American charges of an alleged Iranian role in the Alkhobar blasts of 1996 in which 19 US servicemen were killed.
“You know that the Ministry of Interior is currently holding an inquiry into the matter and any statement (on the matter) will be issued by responsible agencies,” he said.
Prince Saud said defamatory statements on issues under investigation are “not a good thing.”
Last week’s New Yorker magazine said Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Louis Freeh had handed President George W. Bush a list of people, including Iranian officials, he believed should be indicted. Iran rejected the report as “baseless.”
Prince Saud said that during his talks with Kharrazi, they reviewed bilateral relations and developments on Arab and Islamic fronts.
Kharrazi described relations between the two countries as “good and progressing.” “We hope for more constructive cooperation,” Kharrazi added.
