Both Saudi Arabia and Iran said Sunday that they do not want war, amid a recent spike in tensions between the two archrivals.
Adel al-Jubeir, the minister of state for foreign affairs, spoke early Sunday, a week after four oil tankers were targeted in an alleged act of sabotage off the coast of the United Arab Emirates and days after Iran-allied Yemeni rebels claimed a drone attack on a Saudi oil pipeline.
Saudi Arabia has blamed the pipeline attack on Iran. Gulf officials say an investigation into the tanker incident is underway.
Al-Jubeir told reporters: "We want peace and stability in the region, but we won't stand with our hands bound."
Ministers from major oil-producing countries were to meet in Saudi Arabia later Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards also said Iran is not pursuing war, according to the Fars news agency.
"The difference between us and them is that they are afraid of war and don't have the will for it," Major General Hossein Salami said.
