On Saturday, a technical delegation from Saudi Arabia arrived in Iran to assess the situation and discuss the procedures for the reopening of the Saudi embassy…reports Asian Lite News
A technical team from Iran will “probably” travel to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to prepare for the reopening of the Iranian embassy in Riyadh.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on Sunday that the team would visit the building of the Iranian embassy and prepare the ground for its reopening, Xinhua news agency reported.
Alireza Enayati, a Director General of the Iranian Foreign Ministry, confirmed that an Iranian technical delegation will visit Saudi Arabia “this week” to do the preliminary work for the embassy’s reopening, without giving the exact date of the trip, the Iran Press news agency on Sunday reported.
On Saturday, a technical delegation from Saudi Arabia arrived in Iran to assess the situation and discuss the procedures for the reopening of the Saudi embassy and consulate general in the country, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
On Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud signed a joint statement in Beijing, announcing the resumption of diplomatic relations.
Saudi Arabia cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2016 in response to the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran after the kingdom executed a Shiite cleric.
The UAE downgraded relations with Iran after Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran.
The animosity between Iran and Saudi Arabia had previously threatened stability and security in the Gulf, and fuelled conflicts in the Middle East from Yemen to Syria.
However, in a significant breakthrough last month, Riyadh announced that it would re-establish ties with Tehran in a China-brokered deal, marking a step-change in years of hostility between the two nations.
In the first high-level meeting between Iran and Saudi Arabia in over seven years, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian of Iran and Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud of Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to reopen embassies and consulates in their respective countries.
Iran released a statement saying that the two sides expressed their willingness to overcome any obstacles to expanding cooperation between their nations. The embassies will be located in Tehran and Riyadh, while the consulates will be established in Mashhad and Jeddah.
The two longtime Middle East rivals have now pledged to work together.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met in Beijing on Thursday and vowed to bring “security and stability” to the turbulent Gulf region.
On Saturday, a Saudi “technical delegation” met Iran’s chief of protocol at the foreign ministry in Tehran, SPA said.