The Foreign Ministry in Tehran announced on Thursday that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud have agreed to meet as soon as possible to lay the groundwork for the reopening of embassies and consulate generals between the two countries.
The two Ministers discussed the issues during a phone call to congratulate each other on the start of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, according to the Ministry.
The Saudi Foreign Minister highlighted the positive outcomes of the Beijing meeting, in which the two countries signed an agreement to normalise relations after seven years, and emphasised the importance of meeting his Iranian counterpart soon and reopening embassies.
Meanwhile, Amir-Abdollahian expressed satisfaction with the detente reached between Tehran and Riyadh, emphasising Iran’s willingness to develop and strengthen bilateral ties.
On March 10, China, Saudi Arabia, and Iran announced that Riyadh and Tehran had reached an agreement to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions within two months.
Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud invited Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Riyadh on Sunday.
Following the agreement to restore diplomatic relations, the two countries announced that embassies will reopen within two months, as well as trade and security relations.
Saudi Arabia severed ties in January 2016 after protesters stormed its embassy in Tehran following the execution of prominent Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on terror-related charges.
Since then, tensions have been high between the Sunni- and Shia-led neighbours, with each seeing the other as a threatening power seeking regional dominance.
They have been on opposing sides in several regional conflicts, including Syria and Yemen’s civil wars.
