Seven months after announcing the restoration of their diplomatic relations and the reopening of their embassies, Iran and Saudi Arabia have now respectively welcomed the ambassadors of their countries since Tuesday, we learned from official Iranian and Saudi sources.
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The end of seven years of diplomatic rupture. The Saudi Arabian ambassador to Iran arrived in the Islamic Republic on Tuesday, September 5, and his Iranian counterpart landed in Riyadh, following the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries, according to official Iranian and Saudi sources.
Saudi Arabia underlines “the importance of strengthening ties, intensifying communication and meetings between the Kingdom and Iran”, declared Ambassador Abdullah Alanazi upon his arrival in the Iranian capital, according to a statement from the Saudi ministry.
Iran’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alireza Enayati, arrived in the capital Riyadh, where he was received by Foreign Ministry officials and embassy staff, according to the agency official Iranian press Irna.
A diplomatic warming facilitated by Beijing
The Saudi embassy in Tehran resumed operations last month, while the Islamic Republic reopened its diplomatic representation in Riyadh in June.
Iran, with a Shiite majority, and Saudi Arabia, with a Sunni majority, have long been at loggerheads, opposing each other on numerous issues in the Middle East, from Syria to Yemen. The two countries severed diplomatic ties in 2016.
In March, Riyadh and Tehran announced the restoration of relations under a China-brokered deal.
With AFP
Source: France 24
