Talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia have gone a “good distance”, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian told a news conference in Beirut on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said earlier this week that talks between the Kingdom and Iran remain in the “exploratory phase”.

“The fourth round of talks took place on September 21. These discussions remain in the exploratory phase. We hope they lay the foundation to address the issues between the two sides and we will work to achieve that,” Prince Faisal said in a joint press conference with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said last month that talks between Tehran and Riyadh achieved “serious progress” on the issue of Gulf security.