Saudi embassy in Tehran resumes work after seven years

“The embassy of the Saudi kingdom in the Islamic Republic of Iran has officially begun its work in our country since Sunday, August 6,” IRNA quoted an informed source at the Iranian Foreign Ministry as saying on Wednesday, without elaborating further.

Riyadh closed its diplomatic missions in Tehran in 2016 after they were ransacked by protesters enraged by the Saudi execution of top Shia cleric Nimr Baqir al-Nimr.

The two countries signed a China-brokered normalization agreement in March, under which the two committed to ending a seven-year rupture of ties.

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 ties in different sectors.

In May, Iran appointed senior diplomat Alireza Enayati as its ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Tehran also re-opened its embassy in Riyadh and its consulate in the port city of Jeddah in June.