According to Tehran, a delegation from Iran arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to clear the way for the reopening of diplomatic offices as the Gulf adversaries are ready to mend fences, seven years after an ugly breakup.
The statement followed a historic meeting between the foreign ministers of the two countries in China, where they committed to bring stability to the unrest-ridden area. Days later, a Saudi delegation paid a similar visit to Iran’s capital.
According to Nasser Kanani, a spokesman for Iran’s foreign ministry, “in accordance with the implementation of the agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia on the resumption of diplomatic activities…the Iranian technical delegation arrived in Riyadh at midday Wednesday and was welcomed by Saudi officials.”
“The Iranian delegation will take the necessary steps to reopen the embassy in Riyadh and the general consulate in Jeddah as well as the activities of Iran’s permanent representative in the (Jeddah-based) Organisation of Islamic Cooperation,” he said in a statement.
According to Tehran, Ebrahim Raisi, the president of Iran, has received an invitation to visit Saudi Arabia. This would be the first such visit since Mohammad Khatami’s trip there in 1999.
The flurry of diplomatic activity comes in response to last month’s historic statement that Iran and Saudi Arabia, which have supported opposite sides in wars around the Middle East, would strive to resume relations. This announcement was facilitated by China.
In 2016, after Iranian protestors attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in response to the killing of Saudi Shiite preacher Nimr al-Nimr, one of several flashpoints between the longtime adversaries, Riyadh severed ties.
According to the official Saudi Press Agency, since the March 10 statement, the foreign ministers of the two nations have met in China, and last week in Tehran, a technical delegation from Saudi Arabia met with the Iranian chief of protocol.
