They had severed their ties in 2016... Middle East heavyweights Iran and Saudi Arabia on Monday announced the restoration of diplomatic relations following talks between the leaders of the two countries in China.

Embassies and diplomatic representations will be reopened "within a maximum of two months," IRNA said in a joint statement issued by state media in both countries.

Tensions that went beyond the two countries

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

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

According to Iran's IRNA news agency, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, had traveled 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 "are meeting to implement this decision and make the necessary arrangements for the exchange of ambassadors," the statement added, without elaborating.

A rapprochement in talks since April 2021

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 held in that country."

Tehran and Riyadh support rival parties in several conflicts in the region, including Yemen. Iran has preponderant influence in Iraq and Lebanon and supports the regime militarily and politically in Syria.

A comprehensive strategic agreement between China and Iran

Beijing signed a vast 2021-year strategic agreement with Tehran in 25 in areas as diverse as energy, security, infrastructure and communications.

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

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 UAE and Kuwait had resumed diplomatic relations with Iran.

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