Saudi Arabia and Iran on the world map
Zhanursula E+ | Getty Images
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Old regional foes Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to restore diplomatic ties and reopen embassies in each other’s countries after talks led by China in Beijing, both governments said in state media.
“As a result of the talks, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to restore diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies within two months,” Iran’s IRNA news agency reported on Friday.
Saudi Arabia’s state-run Saudi Press Agency confirmed the statement in a statement.
In a statement from Saudi Arabia, Beijing was extremely grateful for its leadership in the negotiations.
“In response to the good initiative of the President of the People’s Republic of China, His Excellency President Xi Jinping, on China’s support for the development of good neighborly relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran… Delegations of the two countries held talks in Beijing from March 6-10, 2023 “, – said in the message of SPA.
It highlighted the Chinese leader’s role in facilitating and sponsoring talks between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Iran, a process that Riyadh described as “stemming from their shared desire to resolve their differences through dialogue and diplomacy and within the framework of their brotherly ties.”
Iran and Saudi Arabia have long accused each other of destabilizing the region, seeing each other as major security threats on opposite sides of regional conflicts such as Yemen, Lebanon and Syria.
Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran in response to Saudi Arabia’s execution of 47 dissidents, including a leading Shiite cleric.
This is breaking news and will be updated soon.
