Saudi king urges Iran to comply with nuclear deal

Tehran must take serious steps to build international confidence, says King Salman

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has said the kingdom is a mediator for peace in global conflicts and crises. AFP

Iran must co-operate with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the global community if it wants to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, Saudi Arabia's King Salman said on Sunday.

Efforts to save the accord have faced several stumbling blocks, including Iran’s continued nuclear advances and the recent crackdown on protesters across the country.

“We call on Iran to urgently fulfil its nuclear obligations [and] co-operate fully with the International Atomic Energy Agency,” Saudi Arabia's state news agency reported King Salman as saying.

The Saudi king, who was speaking by video link at the opening of the Shura Council advisory body, said Iran must “take serious steps to build confidence between it, its neighbours and the international community”.

The UN nuclear watchdog said last week that Iran was quickly expanding its ability to enrich uranium with advanced centrifuges at its underground plant at Natanz and intended to go further than previously planned.

While efforts to revive the deal have stalled, Tehran has brought on stream an ever larger number of advanced centrifuges that it was banned from using to produce enriched uranium under the deal.

In 2018, Donald Trump, the US president at the time, pulled his country out of the nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran.

Iran responded by breaching restrictions on its nuclear activities imposed by the deal.

If the deal is revived, Iran will have to put its advanced centrifuges into storage, diplomats have said.

Iran has long denied that it is attempting to build a bomb and says its nuclear activities are peaceful.

King Salman said his country was a “mediator for peace” in international crises and conflicts.

Speaking on other regional issues, King Salman said the kingdom fully supports all efforts towards a permanent ceasefire in Yemen.

King Salman also praised those who wanted to push forward a political process between the internationally recognised government and the Iran-backed Houthi militia.

Ending the Houthi rebels' “provocative violations in Yemen” is of high importance, he said.