After meeting with his Saudi counterpart in Riyadh, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian expressed satisfaction with the development of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, as two regional rivals seek to overcome past hostility and ease tensions across the Middle East.
"Relations between Tehran and Saudi Arabia are on the right track and we are witnessing progress," Amir-Abdollahian said at a joint news conference on August 16 with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan.
"We had good discussions over a broad range of issues during our meetings today," he also said.
Amir-Abdollahian’s visit, the first to the kingdom by an Iranian foreign minister since 2015, comes after the two countries reached a China-brokered deal to resume diplomatic ties following years of hostility that had endangered regional stability.
In June, Prince Faisal met with Iranian officials in Tehran on his first trip to the Islamic Republic.
Sunni-ruled Saudi Arabia, a US ally, broke off ties with Iran in 2016 after protesters stormed Saudi diplomatic posts in the country. The demonstrations were triggered by the execution of a prominent Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia.
Tensions have since risen dramatically across the Middle East, particularly after the United States unilaterally withdrew from a landmark nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers in 2018.
The Islamic Republic has been blamed for a series of attacks in the region in recent years, including one that targeted Saudi Arabia’s oil industry in 2019, temporarily halving the country’s crude production.
"We look forward to a new phase in our relationship based on our Islamic brotherhood,” Prince Faisal said on August 16.
The Saudi foreign minister said his country hoped to see Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi visit the kingdom following King Salman bin Abdulaziz's invitation. Raisi has said he would travel to Saudi Arabia at the "appropriate time."
Prince Faisal also said his country was keen to follow through with all main points of the China-brokered agreement, adding that the two countries' ambassadors will start in their positions in their respective embassies after their reopening.
Amir-Abdollahian was accompanied in his trip by Alireza Enayati, Iran’s new ambassador to Riyadh, where the Islamic Republic officially reopened its embassy in June. Iranian state media reported earlier this month that the Saudi embassy in Tehran had also resumed operations.
The last Iranian foreign minister to travel to Saudi Arabia on a public visit was Mohammad Javad Zarif, who went to the kingdom in 2015 to offer condolences for the death of King Abdullah.
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