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04-04-2023
TEHRAN/ RIYADH: The foreign ministers of regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia are expected to meet “in the coming days”, according to the Iranian foreign ministry.
Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a telephone conversation with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisan bin Farhan on Sunday following the recent warming of ties between the two countries, promising to meet “in the coming days”.
Tehran and Riyadh broke ties in 2016 after Riyadh’s diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked following the execution of influential Shia cleric Nimr Al-Nimr by Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry did not mention the upcoming meeting but confirmed that the two leading diplomats discussed “the next steps in light of the recent tripartite agreement”, referring to a Chinese-brokered deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran struck last month.
This was the third phone conversation between the foreign ministers in the past few weeks and a fourth is scheduled over the next 48 hours when the diplomats will finalize a date for their planned meeting.
Iranian and Saudi security officials met in Beijing and on 10 March agreed to reopen their embassies and consulates in what was seen as a landmark bilateral deal.
Ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia have been strained for decades, and the tensions came to a head in 2016 following the execution of Al-Nimr.
On March 19, the two countries agreed to resume relations in an agreement mediated by China.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken welcomed that development, saying last month, “From our perspective, anything that can help reduce tensions, avoid conflict, and curb in any way dangerous or destabilizing actions by Iran is a good thing.”
The exact time and place for the meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud was still to be determined, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.
Tehran and Riyadh cut diplomatic relations in January 2016 after the attacks of supporters of the Iranian government on Saudi diplomatic centers in Tehran and Mashhad. (Int’l Monitoring Desk)
