According to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, Saudi Arabia and Iran will soon reopen their embassies in each other’s capitals, indicating a possible thaw in their relations after seven years of diplomatic tension. Speaking at a news conference in Beirut, Amirabdollahian did not provide specific dates for the reopening of the embassies, which were closed in 2016.
Amirabdollahian said that during the last phone call between the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia, they agreed to work on reopening the embassies in Tehran and Riyadh in the coming days. China brokered the deal that led to the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two nations last month.
The two countries’ relationship began to deteriorate in 2015 after Saudi Arabia and the UAE intervened in the Yemen war. The Iran-aligned Houthi movement had overthrown the Saudi-backed government and captured Sanaa, the capital. Tensions between the nations have fueled conflicts throughout the region, including the Syrian civil war.
Amirabdollahian was in Lebanon for a visit where he met with Lebanese officials, including Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah. He also confirmed that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi would soon be visiting Syria. It will mark the initial trip of an Iranian president to meet Syrian President Bashar al-Assad since the onset of the war in 2011. Assad managed to regain control of a significant portion of his country with assistance from both Iran and Russia.
Read also: Iran invites Saudi King Salman to visit Tehran
Meanwhile, Israel’s National Security Adviser, Tzachi Hanegbi, suggested that Iran’s diplomatic outreach was a response to its failure to deal with Israeli military strikes on its assets in Syria and other areas. Hanegbi stated that “Iran is in distress” during an interview with Israel’s Channel 12 TV.
