Iran & Saudi restored diplomatic ties in chinease brokered deal after 7 years of broken relationship
On Friday, through Chinese facilitation, Iran and Saudi Arabia managed to restore ties and reopen diplomatic missions. It has been seven years since their relations were cut-off. A joint statement was released regarding this agreement.
This final measure completes a broad restructuring and endeavors to reduce stress in the region of the Middle East.
Riyadh severed its relations with Tehran after it was revealed that Iranian protesters had raided Saudi diplomatic offices in the country in 2016. This event was a response to Saudi Arabia carrying out the death sentence on a highly esteemed Shiite figure, Nimr al-Nimr.
Image Source: The Hindu (This image has been edited)
Iran, a Shiite-majority nation, and Saudi Arabia, a Sunni Muslim state, back opposing sides in many Middle Eastern disputes including one in Yemen. Iran offers support to the Houthi rebels while Saudi Arabia directs a military coalition aiding the government.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have reached an agreement to revive diplomatic ties and reopen embassies in two months, according to a joint statement issued by Iran's state news agency IRNA.
The Saudi Press Agency announced that negotiations held in Beijing concluded shortly before the announcement.
On Monday, Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, made a journey to Beijing to engage in 'rigorous negotiations' with his Saudi counterpart. IRNA reported that these meetings were intended to provide a final solution to the strained relationship between Tehran and Riyadh.
Since April 2021, Iraq has been the venue of several discussions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, their neighbouring country. Discussions at a subdued level between security and intelligence representatives were held.
In July, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian declared the two nations ready to advance negotiations, particularly in the political and public arenas. No public talks had been held since April of the previous year.
Friday saw Iran and Saudi Arabia express appreciation to Iraq, Oman, and China for their involvement in talks over 2021 and 2022. Iraq and Oman accommodated the discussions, while China hosted and provided support.
The three nations indicated their commitment to doing whatever necessary for regional and global peace and security. Gulf states besides Qatar also reduced their relations with Iran after the 2016 event.
In September, Tehran graciously received the return of an Emirati ambassador after a six-year hiatus. And in the previous month, Iran informed that Kuwait had appointed its initial representative since 2016.
In June 2017, a rift amongst countries in the region materialized when Saudi Arabia and its allies - the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt - severed relations with Qatar.
Qatar strongly rejected the claims that it was in cahoots with extremists and too close to neighboring Iran. The ties were repaired in January 2021.
On Thursday, Amir-Abdollahian visited Damascus and gave his blessing to Arab outreach to the government of Syria which has been isolated internationally since the quake in Turkey and the war last month.
He also noted that Tehran would work on reconciling Syria and Turkey, which has been an opponent of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's government throughout the twelve-year civil war.
Relations between Riyadh and Ankara have grown closer since the 2018 assassination of Saudi journalist and government critic Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom's Istanbul consulate.
President Erdogan has put a great deal of effort into restoring relations, which experts believe is motivated mostly by economic considerations.
This news has been sourced from multiple news syndicates and has been re-written to remove plagiarism
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