Report: Saudi delegation in Iran to discuss reopening missions

According to the Saudi Foreign Ministry, the team arrived in Tehran on Saturday few days after Tehran and Riyadh officially restored diplomatic relations, which have been severed over the past seven years.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, met in the Chinese capital, Beijing, on Thursday a month after the two countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations under a China-brokered deal.

Following the meeting, the top Iranian and Saudi diplomats issued a statement stressing the need to implement the landmark China-brokered reconciliation agreement in an attempt to enhance mutual trust and help boost regional security.

They expressed readiness to remove all impediments to the expansion of bilateral ties and agreed to develop cooperation in any field that can ensure the security and stability of the region as well as the interests of its nations.

On March 10, after several days of intensive negotiations hosted by China, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to resume their diplomatic relations and reopen their embassies and diplomatic missions after seven years of estrangement.

In a joint statement after signing the agreement, Tehran and Riyadh highlighted the need to respect each others’ national sovereignty and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of one another.

They agreed to implement a security cooperation agreement signed in April 2001 and another accord reached in May 1998 to boost economic, commercial, investment, technical, scientific, cultural, sports, and youth affairs cooperation.

To the dismay of the US and Israel, the detente has the potential to ease tensions across a region characterized by turbulence for decades.