Iranian Foreign Minister: Strengthening our relations with Saudi Arabia will be in the interest of the security of the region

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Sunday that strengthening relations between Riyadh and Tehran will be in the interest of the two countries and the security and stability of the region, and the Iranian minister's statement comes more than a week after Riyadh and Tehran announced the resumption of diplomatic relations between them and the reopening of embassies within two months, following Chinese-sponsored talks in Beijing.

The Iranian Foreign Minister added – at a press conference in Tehran – that talks are continuing between the two countries to hold a meeting soon at the level of foreign ministers, pointing out that there are 3 proposed places to host the meeting between him and his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

Abdollahian pointed out that his country agreed with Riyadh to return the relationship between them to normal, and said that Iran exchanged letters with Saudi Arabia through the Swiss embassy, to hold a bilateral meeting and implement the Beijing agreement concluded on the tenth of this month.

According to the Iranian minister, there is an agreement between Tehran and Riyadh to visit technical delegations to inspect the embassies of the two countries in preparation for their reopening.

Beijing Agreement

The Beijing agreement came after the Chinese capital hosted – from the sixth to the tenth of March – Saudi-Iranian talks "in response to an initiative by Chinese President Xi Jinping, and in agreement with the leaderships of the Kingdom and the Republic of Iran and the desire of each to resolve differences," according to the tripartite statement of Beijing, Riyadh and Tehran.

In a related context, the political aide to the Iranian president said that President Ebrahim Raisi welcomes an invitation he received from Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz to visit Riyadh.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said – in press statements last Monday – that reaching an agreement between Riyadh and Tehran leading to the resumption of political relations does not mean reaching a solution to all outstanding differences between the two countries.

Minister Bin Farhan added that he looks forward to meeting the Iranian Foreign Minister soon based on what has been agreed, stressing that work will be done to resume diplomatic relations within the next two months.