Middle East
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan al-Saud (left) and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (right). Photos: AFP
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers agreed to meet “soon” during a call to put into effect a historic reconciliation deal while exchanging Ramadan greetings in a phone call, Riyadh said Thursday, two weeks after the former arch-rivals agreed to normalize ties.
Tehran and Riyadh announced earlier in February that they were restoring ties after decades of bitter relations that culminated in severing their respective diplomatic missions in 2016. The agreement followed five talks of talks in Beijing between top security officials of the two countries.
“The two ministers agreed to hold a bilateral meeting soon, to pave the way for the reopening of embassies and consulates between the two countries,” the Saudi foreign ministry said on Twitter about Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud’s phone call with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
The agreement to hold a meeting was made as the two “exchanged greetings and congratulations” for Ramadan, which began on Thursday in both Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia and Shiite-majority Iran.
Riyadh and Tehran severed ties in 2016 when Iranian protestors attacked the Saudi diplomatic mission in Tehran in retaliation to the kingdom’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
Both countries had rocky relations since 1979, when Shiite revolutionaries came to power in Iran and pledged to export their revolution to the world, including Gulf countries.
The Chinese-brokered rapprochement followed two years of mediation from Iraq, with Baghdad previously hosting five rounds of talks beginning in 2021 between the regional powers which brought them closer to the final agreement reached in Beijing. Oman also mediated discussions.
In January, Amir-Abdollahian said that the reopening of consulates in the cities of Jeddah and Mashhad will be one of the first steps in restoring diplomatic ties.
Tehran and Riyadh announced earlier in February that they were restoring ties after decades of bitter relations that culminated in severing their respective diplomatic missions in 2016. The agreement followed five talks of talks in Beijing between top security officials of the two countries.
“The two ministers agreed to hold a bilateral meeting soon, to pave the way for the reopening of embassies and consulates between the two countries,” the Saudi foreign ministry said on Twitter about Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud’s phone call with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
The agreement to hold a meeting was made as the two “exchanged greetings and congratulations” for Ramadan, which began on Thursday in both Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia and Shiite-majority Iran.
Riyadh and Tehran severed ties in 2016 when Iranian protestors attacked the Saudi diplomatic mission in Tehran in retaliation to the kingdom’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
Both countries had rocky relations since 1979, when Shiite revolutionaries came to power in Iran and pledged to export their revolution to the world, including Gulf countries.
The Chinese-brokered rapprochement followed two years of mediation from Iraq, with Baghdad previously hosting five rounds of talks beginning in 2021 between the regional powers which brought them closer to the final agreement reached in Beijing. Oman also mediated discussions.
In January, Amir-Abdollahian said that the reopening of consulates in the cities of Jeddah and Mashhad will be one of the first steps in restoring diplomatic ties.
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