“No plan is presently on the agenda of [Iran’s] foreign minister for a visit to Saudi Arabia,” Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Arab and African Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Sunday.

The official, however, emphasized that Iran welcomes any visit by Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal to Tehran.

The development comes as London-based Arabic-language newspaper al-Hayat had earlier quoted certain sources inside Iran as claiming that preparations are being made for a visit by Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to Saudi Arabia but the exact date for the trip has not been determined yet.

In May, the Saudi foreign minister said Zarif had been invited to Riyadh, but the following day Iran said it had received no written invitation in this regard, adding, however, that Tehran welcomes meetings and negotiations in order to help "resolve regional problems, clear misunderstandings and further expand bilateral relations.”

Iran and Saudi Arabia are divided on a number of regional issues such as the situation in Syria and Bahrain.

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