Time for Saudi Arabia and Iran to 'act responsibly'

Minister of Foreign Affairs Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Tuesday added his voice to those calling for Iran and Saudi Arabia to put aside their differences and focus instead on beating the so-called "Islamic State" (IS) militant group, Deutsche Welle reported.

In an interview with mass-circulation newspaper "Bild", he said "I hope that the turbulence will soon end, reason prevails and Riyadh and Tehran focus on what's really important - defusing the military conflicts, fostering political solutions in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere and thus pulling the rug out from under IS."

His remarks following a diplomatic crisis between Saudi Arabia and Iran over the Sunni-majority kingdom's execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr and the subsequent attacks on Saudi missions in Tehran and Mashhad.

Source: MENA