Iranian economy minister’s trip to Saudi Arabia sign of bigger development: Report

An article on Nour News, which is associated with the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) of Iran, said that while Khandouzi’s trip — officially meant for him to take part in a summit of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) — was significant, his meetings with Saudi officials and the resultant agreements were more important.

The article said that after Iran and Saudi Arabia announced a reestablishment of their ties in March after seven years of a hiatus in relations, “hostile” Persian-language media and “some domestic media [outlets]” cast doubt about the viability and durability of that agreement.

Khandouzi’s trip to Jeddah, it said, proved all of those insinuations wrong, “because the development of economic ties and envisioning a comprehensive outlook to remove obstacles in that area technically indicate the countries’ serious determination to enhance ties.”

The Iranian economy minister said after his trip to Jeddah that he had met with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia on the sidelines of the IsDB summit, and that they had called for a quick resumption of economic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Last month, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian met with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Beijing.

At the end of that meeting, the two sides issued a joint statement in which they also stressed each other’s economic capacities and their potential in the enhancement of bilateral relations.

China had mediated the rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia.