Saudi Foreign Minister Adel Al-Jubeir said on Thursday a visit to the kingdom last week by a Hamas delegation was religious rather than political and Saudi relations with the Iran-allied Palestinian group had not changed.
Saudi Arabia has for years regarded Hamas with intense suspicion because the Palestinian militant group is both a traditional ally of Iran and also an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, a movement Riyadh has often seen as a threat.
"The visit of Hamas to the Saudi kingdom made by Khaled Meshaal and his colleagues (was a) visit to the holy city of Mecca; The position of the kingdom with regards to Hamas has not changed," Jubeir said.
Jubeir described as inaccurate and exaggerated media reports that the visit was political in nature.