Iran seeks patch up with Saudi

TEHRAN: Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Friday that he hoped "misunderstandings" with Saudi Arabia could be resolved after a war of words erupted over its military intervention in Bahrain.

Saleh said that Iran respected the sovereignty of Sunni-ruled Shiite-majority Bahrain and hoped that a national dialogue launched by King Hamad after the March crackdown on Shiite-led protests would bear fruit.

"We have no particular problem with Saudi Arabia and we regard it as an important country in the region that has influence in international affairs," Salehi said in an interview with the official IRNA news agency.

"I believe these misunderstandings can be resolved. I hope that we will find an acceptable way to continue consultations between our two countries."