Iran and Saudi Arabia, Middle Eastern heavyweights that severed ties in 2016, announced on Monday the restoration of diplomatic ties following talks between the leaders of the two countries in China.
“Following talks, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume diplomatic relations and to reopen embassies and (diplomatic) representations within a maximum of two months,” the statement said. Irna agency, in a joint statement published by the state media of the two countries.
Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran severed ties more than seven years ago after protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in the Islamic Republic following Riyadh’s execution of a famous Shia cleric, Nimr al-Nimr.
Other Gulf countries including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain subsequently reduced diplomatic ties with Tehran to support Riyadh.
Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani has been in Beijing since Monday “for intensive negotiations with his Saudi counterpart in China aimed at resolving the (recent) differences between Tehran and Riyadh”, Irna reported.
The foreign ministers of the two countries will “implement this decision and make the necessary arrangements for the exchange of ambassadors,” the statement added, without further details.
The head of Iranian diplomacy, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, hailed on Twitter “the return to normal relations” between his country and Saudi Arabia.
“The return to normal relations between Tehran and Riyadh offers great opportunities for the two countries, the region and the Muslim world,” he said, adding that his ministry would “actively launch other regional initiatives.”
Starting in April 2021, Iraq hosted a series of meetings between security officials from the two rival powers to bring the two countries closer together.
” New page “
In their joint statement, Iran and Saudi Arabia “thank the Republic of Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman for hosting talks between the two parties in 2021 and 2022, as well as the leaders and the government of the People’s Republic of China for hosting and supporting the talks in that country”.
Iraq hailed the “new page” in the history of diplomatic relations between Tehran and Riyadh which support rival parties in several conflicts in the region, notably in Yemen.
Iran has a dominating influence in Iraq and Lebanon and militarily and politically supports the regime in Syria.
This country maintains very strong ties with Baghdad, where the parliament is dominated by pro-Iranian parties and the government comes from this majority.
Beijing had signed in 2021 a vast strategic agreement over 25 years with Tehran in fields as varied as energy, security, infrastructure and communications.
“The three countries (Iran, Saudi Arabia, China) declare their firm will to exert all efforts to strengthen regional and international peace and security,” said the joint statement released on Friday.
In mid-February, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi paid a three-day state visit to China, the first by an Iranian president to the country in more than 20 years.
In recent months, the Emirates and Kuwait had resumed diplomatic relations with Iran.