RIYADH (Agencies) - Pakistan is trying to mediate tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia following the GCC deployment of forces to Bahrain this spring. Pakistans President Asif Ali Zardari is reportedly mediating talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran to patch up their strained relations, Gulf News reports. Zardanis shuttle diplomacy, according to 'well informed diplomatic sources, are focused on improving bilateral relations and strengthening cooperation in various fields. One of Zardanis major goals is reportedly normalising Saudi-Iranian relations to the level that existed before the Kingdoms sending of troops to Bahrain, according to a report carried by Saudi online newspaper Elaph. During his Iran-visit, Zardari held extensive talks with Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Ahmadinejad, and other high ranking officials. According to Elaph, Interior Minister Rahman Malik accompanied Zardari during the visit to Iran. One of the major goals of Zardaris visit to the Kingdom is to brief King Abdullah on the outcome of his visit to Iran and the Pakistani efforts to improve the strained relations between Riyadh and Tehran, the newspaper said. It also pointed out that Rahman Malik is acting as the special envoy of Zardari in this respect. Malik recently visited Saudi Arabia immediately after his visit to Tehran. Zardani is expected to follow Malik to Jeddah. Dr Guido Steinberg, a German strategic expert, warned Tuesday that the Iranian nuclear program is targeting not Israel, but the Arab world in general and Saudi Arabia in particular. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Friday that he hoped misunderstandings with Saudi Arabia could be resolved after a war of words erupted over its military intervention in Bahrain. Saleh said that Iran respected the sovereignty of Sunni-ruled Shia-majority Bahrain and hoped that a national dialogue launched by King Hamad after the March crackdown on Shia-led protests would bear fruit. We have no particular problem with Saudi Arabia and we regard it as an important country in the region that has influence in international affairs, Salehi said in an interview with the official IRNA news agency. We have had friendly relations with Saudi Arabia for a long time. After recent events in the region there were differences of analysis and interpretation, he said without elaborating. I believe these misunderstandings can be resolved. I hope that we will find an acceptable way to continue consultations between our two countries. Salehis overture to Saudi Arabia came after a sharp downturn in relations in the months since Saudi-led troops intervened to help Bahrains Sunni rulers put down the Shia-led protests. Salehi inisted that Iran respects the national sovereignty and independence of Bahrain and wants peace, stability and security in Bahrain. We think that the Bahrain issue needs to be settled between Bahrainis, he said. We have political relations with the government of Bahrain and we regard as positive the decision by the king of Bahrain to launch a dialogue with the people. We hope that this dialogue will allow a solution to be found. Iran received a formal protest note from the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on Monday after senior Iranian cleric Ayatollah Ahmed Janati used a sermon at the main weekly prayers in Tehran on July 8 to criticise the Bahrain crackdown and dismiss the dialogue as a ploy.