According to Iranian and Saudi state media, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Middle East’s regional rivals, are expected to reopen embassies within two months as they have agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations. The agreement was reached today during talks in Beijing. Iranian state media published images and video of Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, with Saudi national security advisor Musaad bin Mohammed al-Aiban and China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi.
The Saudi Press Agency confirmed the agreement, which also published a joint statement from Saudi Arabia and Iran in which the two countries agreed to respect state sovereignty and not interfere in each other’s internal affairs. The statement also stated that Riyadh and Tehran had agreed to reactivate a 2001 security cooperation agreement. Shamkhani described the talks in Beijing as “clear, transparent, comprehensive, and constructive,” according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.
“Removing misunderstandings and the future-oriented views in relations between Tehran and Riyadh will improve regional stability and security as well as increasing cooperation amongst Persian Gulf nations and the world of Islam for managing current challenges,” Shamkhani was quoted as saying. Iran and Saudi Arabia have long accused each other of destabilising the region and regarded one another as grave security threats, often on opposite sides of regional conflicts such as those in Yemen, Lebanon and Syria. Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 after Iranian protestors stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran in response to Saudi authorities executing 47 dissidents, including a leading Shia cleric.
