Iranian foreign minister leaves for Riyadh in first visit since resumption of ties

TEHRAN (AA) – Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian embarked on a day-long visit to Riyadh on Thursday in the first official trip by a top Iranian diplomat to the Arab country in more than seven years.

Iran’s state media said Amir-Abdollahian will hold talks with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan as well as other Saudi officials.

Speculation is rife that the Iranian foreign minister will also meet Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman during the trip that comes at the invitation of the Saudi foreign minister.

The much-anticipated visit, Iran’s state media said, aims to “facilitate and speed up the implementation of agreements reached between” the two sides in March in Beijing when they agreed to restore diplomatic ties.

During this trip, Iran’s newly appointed ambassador to Riyadh Alireza Enayati will start his diplomatic mission in the Arab country, which will be followed by the deputation of the Saudi envoy to the Iranian capital.

Enayati, a senior Iranian diplomat and former ambassador to Kuwait, was appointed the new Iranian ambassador to Saudi Arabia in May, weeks before Iran reopened its embassy in Riyadh as well as the consulate in the port city of Jeddah.

Last week, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that the embassy of Saudi Arabia in Tehran has also resumed its operations after more than seven years.

Iran and Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties in January 2016 after the Saudi Embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad were stormed by angry mobs following the execution of a Saudi Shia cleric.

The two neighbors started negotiations to revive ties in April 2021, brokered by Iraq and Oman. After nearly two years, the breakthrough was reached courtesy of China.