Iran and Saudi Arabia, heavyweights in the Middle East who severed their ties in 2016, announced on Friday March 10 the restoration of their diplomatic relations following talks between the leaders of the two countries in China.

 "Following talks, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume their diplomatic relations and to reopen embassies and (diplomatic) representations within a maximum of two months," the statement said. Irna agency, in a joint statement published by the state media of the two countries.

Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran severed ties more than seven years ago after protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in the Islamic Republic following Riyadh's execution of a famous Shia cleric, Nimr al-Nimr.

Other Gulf countries including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain subsequently reduced their diplomatic ties with Tehran to support Ryad.

Intensive negotiations

According to the Iranian agency Irna, Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, went to Beijing on Monday "for intensive negotiations with his Saudi counterpart in China aimed at finally resolving the differences between Tehran and Riyadh".

The foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia "meet to implement this decision and make the necessary arrangements for the exchange of ambassadors," the statement added, without elaborating.

Starting in April 2021, Iraq hosted a series of meetings between security officials from the two rival powers to bring the two countries closer together.

In their joint statement, Iran and Saudi Arabia "thank the Republic of Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman for hosting talks between the two sides in 2021 and 2022, as well as the leaders and government of the People's Republic of China for hosting and supporting the talks in that country". 

Tehran and Riyadh support rival parties in several conflicts in the region, notably in Yemen.

Iran has a dominating influence in Iraq and Lebanon and militarily and politically supports the regime in Syria.

Beijing had signed in 2021 a vast strategic agreement over 25 years with Tehran in fields as varied as energy, security, infrastructure and communications.

"The three countries (Iran, Saudi Arabia, China) declare their firm will to exert all efforts to strengthen regional and international peace and security," said the joint statement released on Friday.

In mid-February, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi paid a three-day state visit to China, the first by an Iranian president to the country in more than 20 years.

In recent months, the Emirates and Kuwait had resumed diplomatic relations with Iran.

With AFP

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