Iran Confirms Detente, Reopens Embassy in Saudi Arabia After Years of Tensions

Iran reopens embassy in Saudi Arabia, confirming detente after years of strained relations
Iranian and Saudi Arabia representatives from both countries' ministries attended the ceremony that was held in Riyadh
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian met with Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in relation to the development

Iran officially reopens its embassy located in Saudi Arabia, confirming detente after spending seven years in strained relations with the kingdom causing the severance of diplomatic ties between the two nations.

Iranian and Saudi Arabia representatives from both countries' ministries attended the ceremony that was held in Riyadh. In a statement, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Alireza Bigdeli noted that the development between the two nations marks that their cooperation was "entering a new era."

Iran and Saudi Arabia's Restoration of Relations

The latest development comes three months after the two countries agreed to begin restoring their diplomatic ties helped by a deal that China brokered. In 2016, Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran after the storming of the former's embassy located in Tehran. It was organized by crowds who opposed the kingdom's decision to execute a prominent Shia Muslim cleric, as per BBC.

On Friday, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the foreign minister of Iran, met with Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in a meeting held in Cape Town. Amir-Abdollahian expressed his satisfaction with what he considered was "good progress" made in bilateral ties.

Saudi Arabia is known to consider itself as the leading Sunni Muslim power in the region and Iran, on the other hand, is the largest Shia Muslim country, and has been locked in a chaotic situation with the kingdom for several decades. furthermore, in recent years, the two countries' rivalry has been exacerbated by proxy wars occuring within the Middle East.

On the other hand, the kingdom has been supporting pro-government forces in Yemen in their war against the Houthi rebel movement that has being going on since 2015. Iran has denied that it was responsible for smuggled weapons that are supplied to the Houthis. The latter is believed to be responsible for carrying out missile and drone attacks on the kingdom's cities and oil infrastructure.

In a statement, Bigdeli said that they considered the day of the reopening of the embassy as an important moment in the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The two countries agreed in March to work on restoring diplomatic relations, according to Yahoo News.

Ending Decades of a Strained Relationship

The development on Tuesday comes as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a planned visit to Saudi Arabia for diplomatic reasons. The American official's trip is meant to address the kingdom forging closer relations with Washington's rivalsm which comes as a concern because the gulf country is rich with oil.

The latest development in strained relations means that the mission returns under the leadership of the former ambassador to Kuwait of Iran, Alireza Enayati .

On the other hand, Blinken met with the kingdom's de-facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The two reportedly discussed plans for the deepening of economic cooperation, particularly in the clean energy and technology fields between the U.S. and the kingdom.

Blinken also planned to meet other top Saudi officials during his trip to the Gulf nation, which is considered to be Washington's second recent high-level visit to the region. The first occurred on May 7 when White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan went to Saudi Arabia, said Reuters.