Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that Saudi Arabia and Iran are brotherly nations and Pakistan wants to defuse tensions between the two countries, Dawn newspaper reported Wednesday.

Speaking to media in Tehran after meeting Iranian President Hasan Rouhani and his cabinet members, the premier said Pakistan had achieved success in normalizing ties between the two countries in 1997 and also played the same role during tensions between Iran and Iraq.

He said Pakistan will appoint a focal person on Saudi-Iran issue and sincere efforts are being done in this regard.

Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif had arrived in Tehran Tuesday ─ a day after holding meetings with Saudi leadership in Riyadh in a bid to defuse tensions between the two countries that soar after the hanging of a Shia cleric by Saudi Arabia.

After arrival Gen Raheel met Iran's Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan, according to a statement issued from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

Source: MENA