West News Wire: During discussions in China, the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia, two long-standing adversaries in the area, decided to reopen their respective embassies and consulates. Last month, Riyadh and Tehran announced unexpectedly that they were resuming diplomatic relations. Beijing acted as the mediator.
In an effort to build on the momentum from the March 10 deal, Saudi Arabia’s Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Iran’s Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met in the Chinese capital on Thursday.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced a variety of actions, including the forthcoming reopening of diplomatic missions, in a joint statement. According to the Iranian news agency ISNA, the Iranian ambassador to China informed journalists that the embassies and consulates would reopen “soon.”
The two ministers also pledged to continue reengagement in other areas, including direct flights, issuing travel visas, commerce, and security cooperation. Iran and Saudi Arabia were described as “brotherly nations” in the statement. The ministers thanked China for hosting them and Switzerland for its role in representing the interests of the two nations.
The senior diplomats are also expected to make direct visits to each other’s countries as part of the restoration of bilateral ties. Earlier in the week, Tehran confirmed that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had accepted an invitation to come to Riyadh, which was extended by Saudi Arabia’s King Salman.
Mohammad Keshavarzzadeh, the Iranian ambassador to China, assessed that Beijing’s diplomatic efforts to bring Iran and Saudi Arabia together were correcting “mistakes made by America.” Beijing may play a significant role in mediating the conflict in Ukraine, he added
