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Larijani: Tehran-Riyadh ties to expand in more organized framework
Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani said economic and security cooperation between Iran and Saudi Arabia will expand in a more organized framework.
Larijani made the remarks after a meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Arab country’s Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud in Riyadh on Tuesday.
The Iranian official said that during his meetings, both sides discussed economic, defensive and regional cooperation.
He said that the level of economic relations between the two countries is low and obstacles facing the expansion of relations need to be removed.
Larijani also said that they discussed ways to ensure stability in the West Asia region.
“Defense cooperation between the two countries was also reviewed, and it was decided that these efforts should be pursued in the form of working groups, God willing, this will take on a more organized form in the future.”
Larijani traveled to Saudi Arabia at the invitation of the kingdom’s defense minister, leading a delegation that included Deputy Secretary for International Affairs Ali Bagheri Kani and Persian Gulf Affairs Advisor Mohammad Ali Bek.
The visit follows a series of high-level exchanges between the two countries, including the Saudi defense minister’s trip to Tehran earlier this year.
The meeting comes just one day after President Masoud Pezeshkian met with bin Salman on the sidelines of the emergency Arab-Islamic summit in Doha, where both sides expressed satisfaction with the growing momentum in bilateral ties in the wake of the China-brokered detente in 2023.
Larijani’s visit to Riyadh is his third regional trip since assuming office on August 5, following earlier stops in Iraq and Lebanon.
Iranian officials say the renewed diplomatic outreach reflects efforts to stabilize regional dynamics and expand cooperation with neighboring states.