BEIRUT, Lebanon

The Iranian foreign minister on Friday said talks between Tehran and Riyadh are progressing.

“Iranian-Saudi talks are moving in the right direction, and we need more dialogue. We have reached specific understandings on certain topics,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told a news conference at the end of his visit to Lebanon.

The role of Iran and Saudi Arabia is crucial for stability in the region, he added.

On Sunday, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan said his country conducted the fourth round of direct talks with Iran on Sept. 21, which are still at the "exploratory" level.

The two countries severed diplomatic ties in January 2016 following an attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran after Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr was executed by Saudi authorities.

Relations between the two rivals deteriorated further after Iran in September 2016 accused Saudi authorities of deliberately causing the deaths of around 400 Iranian pilgrims in a 2015 stampede in the Muslim holy city of Makkah.

The two sides have since been engaged in a strong regional rivalry, often accusing each other of waging a proxy war for regional influence.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara