Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has welcomed Saudi Arabia's "initiative for peace with Iran" soon after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS), in an interview to Al Arabiya, sought “good relations” with Iran.

"We welcome the KSA initiative for peace with Iran. Iran is our neighbor and KSA our closest friend. This peace initiative will strengthen the Muslim Ummah," Khan wrote on Twitter.

MBS, speaking to Al Arabia, had earlier said, “Iran is a neighboring country, and all we aspire for is a good and special relationship with Iran." The overture from Saudi’s defacto ruler came weeks after media reports suggested the two Middle Eastern rivals were holding secret talks facilitated by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kazimi.
      
The Iraqi leader last year had admitted that their mediation efforts deescalated the tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. 

In what seems like an olive branch to Tehran, the Saudi prince said, "We do not want Iran's situation to be difficult. On the contrary, we want Iran to grow... and to push the region and the world towards prosperity." 

Saudi Arabia, in 2016, severed its diplomatic relations with Iran after its mission in Tehran, the Iranian capital, was attacked by protesters. The attacks came in response to the Saudi’s decision to execute a prominent Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr-al-Nimr, who was a known critic of the Saudi Royal Family inside the Kingdom. 

The relations further deteriorated after the duo got engaged in a brutal proxy war in Yemen.