Status: 03/10/2023 2:59 p.m
For years there was radio silence between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Now both countries want to resume diplomatic relations. The embassies should reopen within two months.
After years of tension, Iran and Saudi Arabia want to restore diplomatic relations. As a first step, the foreign ministers of the rival countries want to meet, as reported by the state news agencies of both countries, IRNA and SPA. In addition, it was agreed that the embassies and representations would “reopen within two months.” According to the reports, high-ranking government officials signed a corresponding agreement in China, which apparently mediated.
Both sides had also agreed to respect each other’s state sovereignty and not to interfere in each other’s internal affairs. A security agreement signed in 2001 on cooperation in the fight against drug trafficking and terrorism should be implemented, Saudi Arabia said in a statement. They also want to work together economically.
No relationships since 2016
Both countries are struggling for political and military influence in the region. Diplomatic relations between Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia-majority Iran have been on hold for the past few years. After an attack by Iranian demonstrators on the Saudi embassy in Iran, the kingdom severed official contacts with Tehran in January 2016. Days earlier, Saudi Arabia had executed the Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, triggering the demonstrations.
Iran has been blamed for several attacks in recent years, including one on the Saudi Arabian oil industry in 2019, which temporarily halved Saudi Arabia’s crude oil production. Iran has denied responsibility for the attack.
Iraq and Oman as mediators
In recent years, the two states have also fought out their rivalry in military conflicts in the region – for example in the civil wars in Yemen and Syria, where they support different groups.
Over the past year, both sides have cautiously approached each other at the diplomatic level. Several rounds of talks were held in Iraq with Iranian and Saudi officials, mostly focused on security issues. Iran’s influential politician Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Security Council, was reportedly back in Baghdad for talks in the past few days. In addition to Iraq, Oman had also played a role as a mediator.