Iran envoy meets Saudi foreign minister in highest-level talks since new Iran administration

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia's state news agency says the kingdom's foreign minister has met with an Iranian deputy foreign minister in the highest-level bilateral talks between the two Mideast powers since moderate Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's election last year.

Relations between Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia and Shiite powerhouse Iran are tense. Tuesday's meeting provided an opportunity for the two oil-rich nations to begin to thaw those ties.

The Saudi Press Agency said Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal and the Iranian deputy foreign minister, Amir Abdollahian, discussed "a number of regional and international issues of common interest."

Both countries view each other with suspicion, and their relationship has been further strained by the civil war in Syria. Saudi Arabia backs rebels fighting to topple President Bashar Assad's government, which is supported by Tehran.