S. Arabia FM urges peaceful solution to Iran N-issue

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister has called for a peaceful resolution of the West's standoff with Iran over Tehran's nuclear energy program.

Addressing the 69th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on Sunday, Prince Saud al-Faisal said Riyadh is still attaching great importance to tackling the Iranian nuclear issue peacefully through the current nuclear negotiations between Tehran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany.

The Saudi foreign minister said that any peaceful solution to Iran's nuclear issue should guarantee the Islamic Republic’s right to use civilian nuclear energy under international regulations.

Iran and its negotiating partners -- the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany-- have been holding talks to resolve the dispute over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program.

The two sides held their latest round of talks in New York to work out a final agreement aimed at ending the longstanding dispute over Tehran’s civilian nuclear energy program within a November 24 deadline.

Last November, Iran and the six world powers clinched an interim nuclear accord, which took effect on January 20 and expired six months later. However, they agreed to extend their talks until November 24 as they remained divided on a number of key issues.