A Saudi technical team arrived in Tehran to discuss mechanisms for reopening the kingdom's embassy in Tehran and the consulate general in Mashhad, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said, in the first official visit by Saudi officials to Iran since the announcement of the resumption of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
This comes in implementation of the tripartite agreement between Saudi Arabia, Iran and China, and to complement what the two sides agreed upon during the session of talks between Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir Abdollahian, which took place in China a few days ago.
The Saudi technical team, headed by Nasser bin Awad Al Ghannoum, met with Iranian Foreign Ministry Chief of Protocol Ambassador Honardost, at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Tehran, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
During the meeting, the head of the team expressed his thanks to the Chief of Protocol, Ambassador Honardost, for the warm reception received by the team and facilitating the team's arrival procedures, while Honardost expressed his country's readiness and readiness to provide all facilities and support to facilitate the task of the Saudi team.
The next step in restoring relations between the two countries is expected to be Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's visit to Riyadh after receiving an invitation from Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Iranian officials confirmed, an invitation that Saudi Arabia has not yet confirmed.
Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed in March to end their diplomatic spat and reopen diplomatic representations, and Chinese President Xi Jinping helped broker the deal.
The two countries held a number of rounds of dialogue in Baghdad and Oman before reaching an agreement in Beijing, which was negotiated over 5 days between the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani and his Saudi counterpart Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban.
Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran in 2016 after storming its embassy in Tehran, amid a dispute between the two countries over Riyadh's execution of a Shi'ite cleric.