By Oyintari Ben
In a pact between two regional enemies that may have broad ramifications for the Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Iran declared on Friday that they had decided to resume diplomatic relations after seven years of hostility.
According to a joint statement released by Saudi Arabia and Iran on Friday, Riyadh and Tehran want to reopen their embassies in a deal brokered by China.
According to Iranian state media, talks involving China’s top diplomat, Wang Yi, Saudi Arabia’s National Security Council adviser Mosaed Bin Mohammad Al-Aiban, and the chairman of Iran’s National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, have been going on since March 6 in Beijing.
The Saudi Arabian, Iranian, and Chinese flags were draped over officials in a video of the signing ceremony shown by Iranian media.
“The Saudi-Iranian relationship has begun a new chapter as a result of the talks in Beijing. Both parties have demonstrated a desire to strengthen their ties and have agreed on important issues, according to Wang.
They said Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to reopen their embassies in two months.
The joint statement stated that the foreign ministries of the two nations would convene to put this agreement into action and make the necessary preparations for the ambassadorial exchange.
The two parties concur to respect each other’s sovereignty and refrain from meddling in one another’s internal affairs.
Saudi Arabia and Iran had previously undertaken talks about reconciliation in Oman and Iraq.
In 2016, after the Iranian protesters invaded the Saudi embassy in Tehran in response to the death of a Shi’ite cleric in Saudi Arabia, Riyadh severed ties with Tehran.
Since then, they have engaged in a proxy conflict that has drawn in some nearby nations and brought the area dangerously close to war.
Recent years have seen attacks on oil infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates by groups allegedly supported by Iran, including Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Nonetheless, Saudi Arabia and the Houthis have had direct discussions.
The move results from China’s growing diplomatic presence in the Arab world. Russia, Iran’s foremost ally globally, is busy with the conflict in Ukraine, while China, another partner, has recently begun courting Saudi Arabia, Tehran’s main rival.
