As China engineered a deal to mend relations between the regional foes, Iran and Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministers convened in Beijing on Thursday for the first formal meeting of their top diplomats in more than seven years.
In a significant agreement this month mediated by China, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to heal their diplomatic separation and reopen embassies after years of antagonism that spurred wars throughout the Middle East.
In a joint statement, the two nations said they will start the processes necessary to restore embassies and consulates within the two-month window allowed by the agreement reached last month.
The technical teams will continue working together to look at measures to further cooperation, such as resuming flights and bilateral visits by delegations from the public and corporate sectors, as well as streamlining the process of awarding visas to citizens of the two nations, they said.
As a sign of Beijing’s expanding influence in the area, President Xi Jinping of China assisted in brokering the surprise agreement in March that brought an end to the adversaries’ seven-year schism and restored diplomatic ties.
Throughout that month, Xi had many phone conversations with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud.
According to Iranian state television, the meeting between the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers on Thursday was “positive and forward-looking.”
The Middle East, where the United States has served as the primary mediator for decades, was shaken up by China’s role in the breakthrough.
After its embassy in Tehran was stormed during a dispute between the two nations over Riyadh’s murder of a Shi’ite Muslim preacher, Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran in 2016.
In the meantime, the monarchy evacuated its embassy workers from Tehran and demanded that Iranian diplomats depart within 48 hours.
After Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates joined in the Yemen war, where the Iran-aligned Houthi movement overthrew a Saudi-backed government and seized control of the capital, Sanaa, the relationship started to deteriorate a year earlier.
The reconciliation might lead to better security for Saudi Arabia. The Houthis, who launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabian cities and oil facilities, were armed, and the government has accused Iran of doing so.
In 2019, Riyadh directly blamed the Islamic Republic for an attack on Aramco oil facilities that cut off half of its oil output. Iran has refuted these allegations.
