Iran welcomes dialogue with its Gulf neighbors, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday, amid heightened tension in the Middle East. 

"Iran remains open to dialogue with its neighbors and we announce our readiness to participate in any complementary work that is in the interest of the region," Zarif wrote in Arabic on Twitter. 

Zarif's tweet comes after Saudi Arabia's indication on Wednesday that it is ready for a dialogue with Iran. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos that Riyadh is open to talks with Tehran "but it is really up to Iran." He added the precondition for dialogue is for Iran to accept it "cannot further its regional agenda through violence." 

Saudi Arabia serves as a key ally of the United States in the Middle East, whereas Riyadh and Tehran are longtime regional rivals. 

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Tensions between Washington and Tehran have steadily increased since U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from Iran's nuclear deal with world powers in 2018 and imposed tough news sanctions that have hammered the Iranian economy. 

On January 3, Trump ordered a drone strike in Iraq that killed Iran's top military commander Qasem Soleimani after a build up of tension in the region. 

After Soleimani's death, Tehran swiftly appointed Esmail Ghaani as the new head of the Quds Force, an elite unit in the Revolutionary Guards that handles actions abroad. The new commander pledged to pursue Soleimani's course. 

Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, recently said Ghaani would suffer the same fate if he followed a similar path of killing Americans, Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported. 

"If (Esmail) Ghaani follows the same path of killing Americans then he will meet the same fate," Hook told the Arabic-language daily.

Zarif's latest remarks were not the first time that Iran suggested improving ties with its neighbors. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani unveiled a Hormuz Peace Initiative last September at the meeting of the 74th UN General Assembly, saying the initiative aimed at establishing durable peace in the region. 

Iran insists that extra-regional powers cannot bring peace to the region, which could be established through regional states' cooperation. 

Morteza Makki, an Iranian expert of international issues, described the initiative as a "countermeasure" to the U.S. attempts to nurture Iranophobia. 

During a meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Yousef Bin Alawi in Tehran last month, Rouhani said Iran is ready to normalize ties with Saudi Arabia, calling on all regional countries to "stay together in order to create peace and stability." 

"From Iran's points of view, there is no problem in developing ties with neighbors and resuming relations with Saudi Arabia," said the Iranian president. "We should establish security in the Gulf and Strait of Hormuz through expanding our cooperation and preventing foreign powers to interfere."

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Meanwhile, Iran has enhanced cooperation with other neighbors such as Iraq, Syria and Qatar. But Iraqi President Barham Saleh warned Wednesday against pushing Baghdad to choose sides between Tehran and Washington. 

"The escalating tensions between Iran, the Gulf states, and the United States over the past month have reminded us that our aspirations remain subject to political disputes beyond our control and to unwelcome foreign interference," Saleh said in Davos. "It is not in our interest to choose to ally with one side at the expense of others, as long as both respect our sovereignty and independence." 

(With input from agencies)