TEHRAN, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian foreign minister said on Sunday that Iran and Saudi Arabia are expected to resume talks on normalizing ties soon, the official news agency IRNA reported.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks at a joint press conference with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani following their meeting in the Iranian capital Tehran, commenting on the next round of rapprochement talks between Tehran and Riyadh.

Amir-Abdollahian also mentioned that Iran's ties with Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have improved as the two Arab states have already sent their ambassadors back to Tehran.

He stressed that the indirect exchange of messages between Iran and Bahrain is continuing through a mediator, adding the two sides can very well pass through the stage of talks and enter the next phase, which is an expansion of lasting cooperation.

Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016 in response to the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed a Shiite cleric.

To improve bilateral relations and ease regional tension, Iraq hosted four rounds of direct talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia in 2021 and the fifth-round in April last year.