Iran, Saudi to end hostilities in Chinese-brokered deal

In a tripartite statement, Shia-majority Iran and predominantly Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia said they would reopen embassies and missions within two months and implement security and economic cooperation deals signed more than 20 years ago.

Relations with Riyadh broke after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in 2016 following the Saudi execution of revered Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr – just one in a series of flashpoints between the two long-standing rivals.

Friday’s announcement, which followed five days of previously unannounced talks in Beijing and several rounds of talks in Iraq and Oman, completes a broader realignment and efforts to ease tensions in the region.

The joint statement published by the official media of the two countries said, “After negotiations, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and missions. “

Tensions between Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, and Iran, which has been a hotbed of Western governments over its nuclear program, have the potential to reshape ties in a region characterized by decades of unrest.

Iran and Saudi Arabia back rival sides in several conflict areas, including Yemen, where the Houthi rebels are backed by Tehran and Riyadh leads a military coalition supporting the government. The two sides also vie for influence in troubled Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.

– ‘Set aside your differences’ –

“It sets the scene for the two superpowers in the region to iron out their differences,” said Dina Esfandieri of the International Crisis Group.

“The potential downside to this is that if they’re dividing up territory and sorting things out among themselves, you start to lose sight of regional contexts and grievances, which can be potentially problematic.”

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdolahian welcomed the rapprochement and said Tehran would “actively prepare other regional initiatives”.

“The return of normal relations between Tehran and Riyadh offers great opportunities for both countries, the region and the Muslim world,” he tweeted.

Iraq hailed the announcement by its powerful neighbors, with the foreign ministry saying “a new page has been opened in diplomatic relations between the two countries”.

Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, traveled to Beijing on Monday for “in-depth talks with his Saudi counterpart in China to resolve problems between Tehran and Riyadh”, Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported. Said.

Sandwiched between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Iraq had hosted several rounds of talks since April 2021. Those encounters were conducted at a relatively low level, involving security and intelligence officers.

Amir-Abdullahian said in July that the two countries were ready to take the dialogue in the political and public spheres to a higher level.

But no talks were publicly announced since April last year.

– Abraham Accords –

The pledge to resume ties comes two and a half years after the United Arab Emirates, which is also situated between Saudi Arabia and Iran, signed the Abraham Accords that opened ties with Israel – a similarly unexpected move.

It follows a broader pattern of efforts to settle territorial disputes, including a Saudi-led blockade of Qatar that lasted from June 2017 to January 2021.

Saudi Arabia and its allies the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt have severed ties over claims that gas-rich Qatar supports extremists and is too close to Iran – allegations that Doha denies.

Other Gulf countries also scaled back their ties with Iran after the 2016 incident.

But in September, Iran welcomed back an Emirati ambassador after six years of absence. A month ago, Iran said Kuwait had sent its first ambassador to Tehran since 2016.

On Thursday, Amir-Abdollahian was in Damascus, where he welcomed Arab access to Syria’s internationally isolated government after last month’s earthquake rocked the war-torn country and neighboring Turkey.

He also said Tehran, which has supported Damascus during its 12 years of conflict, would join efforts to reconcile Syria and Turkey, which has long fought rebel groups opposing President Bashar al-Assad. has endorsed.

Riyadh and Ankara have been at loggerheads since the 2018 murder of Saudi journalist and government critic Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pushed hard to revive ties, a move that analysts have described as driven largely by economic considerations.

AP/IT/TH/KIR