TEHRAN: Regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on Friday to restore ties and reopen diplomatic missions in China-brokered talks, they said in a joint statement, seven years after ties were severed.
The initiative covers a broader revision and effort to de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.
Riyadh cut ties with Tehran after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in the Islamic Republic in 2016, following the execution of prominent cleric Nimr al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia.
“After talks, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions within two months,” JEE News said, citing a joint statement.
The official Saudi Press Agency also published a statement, saying five days of talks were held in Beijing immediately before the announcement.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Shamkhani traveled to Beijing on Monday to “hold intensive talks with his Saudi counterpart in China to finally resolve issues between Tehran and Riyadh,” JEE News said.
Iraq, a neighbor of both countries, has hosted several rounds of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia since April 2021.
These competitions were held at a relatively low level, involving security and intelligence officials.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdullahian said in July that the two countries are ready to take the dialogue to a higher level in the political and public arena.
But no talks have been publicly announced since April last year.
Mending ties
In Friday’s statement, Iran and Saudi Arabia said they “thank the Republic of Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman for hosting the talks between the two sides in 2021 and 2022, as well as the leaders and government of the People’s Republic of China. Support the talks in the country.”
“The three countries expressed their willingness to make all efforts to enhance regional and international peace and security,” he said.
Other Gulf states also severed ties with Iran after the 2016 incident.
But in September, Tehran welcomed the Emirati ambassador back after a six-year absence. A month ago, Iran said that Kuwait had sent its first ambassador to Iran since 2016.
Another regional rupture occurred in June 2017 when Saudi Arabia and its allies the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt severed ties with Qatar.
They claimed it supported extremists and was too close to Iran — allegations denied by Doha.
These relationships were corrected in January 2021.
On Thursday, Emir Abdullahian was in Damascus, where he welcomed Turkey and Arab access to Syria’s internationally isolated government after last month’s earthquake in the war-torn country.
He also said Tehran, which has backed Damascus during the 12-year conflict, would join efforts to reconcile Syria and Turkey, which has long supported rebel groups opposed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. have been.
Relations between Riyadh and Ankara have also been strained since the 2018 killing of Saudi journalist and government critic Jamal Khashoggi at the Istanbul consulate.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pushed hard to restore bilateral ties, a move analysts say is largely driven by economic considerations.
