Tehran-Riyadh ties on right track
Iran’s foreign minister said relations between Tehran and Riyadh are on the right track after he paid a two-day visit to Saudi Arabia, marking the improvement of relations between the two regional powers.
On Friday, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held talks with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah, where the two sides reviewed bilateral relations and explored opportunities for cooperation between Tehran and Riyadh.
They also discussed the latest international and regional developments.
“Discussions were frank, beneficial and productive,” Amir-Abdollahian said in a social media post after the meeting, adding that the countries “agree on the security and development of all in the
region”.
The meeting came as part of the Iranian foreign minister’s visit to Riyadh on his first trip to Saudi Arabia since a Chinese-brokered rapprochement deal reached between the two countries in March.
Earlier on Thursday, Iran’s top diplomat held talks with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
Amir-Abdollahian described Thursday’s meeting in the Saudi Foreign Ministry’s Islamic Solidarity Hall as “a prelude to the meeting of the heads of the two countries,” without specifying when Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi would visit Saudi Arabia at King Salman’s invitation.
“We are sure that these meetings and cooperation will help the unity of the Islamic world,” he said, proposing a “regional dialogue”.
Describing progress in the detente between Riyadh and Tehran, the Iranian foreign minister told a joint press conference with his Saudi counterpart, “Relations between Tehran and Saudi Arabia are on the right track, and we are witnessing progress,” adding, “The talks were successful.”
The top Iranian diplomat highlighted that Iran believes security in the region must be ensured through reliance on local capabilities, stating that Iran stretches out a hand of cooperation to neighboring countries.
“Within such a framework, we have planned promotion of solid relations with other countries like Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates apart from restoration of ties with the friendly and neighboring Saudi Arabia.”
Regional security
Prince Faisal, for his part, said on Thursday, “Our meeting today is a continuation of the steps taken towards implementing the agreement to resume diplomatic relations, which represents a pivotal platform in the history of the two countries and the path of regional security.”
In June, Iran officially reopened its embassy in Saudi Arabia and Iranian media reported earlier this month that the kingdom’s embassy in Tehran had resumed
operations.
Prince Faisal confirmed on Thursday that the Saudi Embassy in Tehran has also resumed operations, which he described as “another step in the development of relations between the two countries”.
“We look forward to a new phase in our relationship based on our Islamic brotherhood and work towards common interests,” he said, adding that he welcomed Iran’s endorsement of Riyadh’s bid to host Expo 2030. The Thursday meeting came nearly two months after the Saudi foreign minister met Iranian officials in Tehran on his first trip to Iran since the China-brokered deal to resume relations and reopen diplomatic missions.
The last Iranian foreign minister to visit Saudi Arabia was Mohammad Javad Zarif, who traveled to the kingdom in 2015 to offer condolences for the death of King Abdullah.
The two countries severed ties in 2016 after Iranian protesters, angry at the execution of the prominent Saudi Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr, stormed Saudi’s diplomatic missions in Iran.