Raisi welcomes the Iranian invitation to go to Saudi Arabia after the reconciliation settlement
An Iranian official stated Sunday that Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi “welcomed” the invitation of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz to go to the dominion after the reconciliation settlement between the 2 international locations.
“In a letter to the president… the king of Saudi Arabia welcomed the settlement between the 2 brotherly international locations (and) invited him to Riyadh,” Mohammad Jamshidi, deputy head of the Iranian president’s workplace for political affairs, stated on Twitter, including that “Raisi welcomed the invitation.”
King Salman bin Abdulaziz, in a letter to the chief president, welcomed the settlement between the 2 brotherly international locations, invited him to Riyadh, and referred to as for robust financial/regional cooperation. Raisi welcomed the invitation and confirmed Iran’s readiness to broaden cooperation
– Muhammad Jamshidi (@MhmmdJamshidi) March 19, 2023 The 2 regional heavyweights introduced on March 10 a Chinese language-brokered deal to revive relations after seven years of severing them.
Riyadh minimize ties after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in 2016 within the wake of Saudi Arabia’s execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr — only one in a collection of flashpoints between the 2 longtime regional rivals.
The settlement is predicted to see the reopening of the embassies and missions of Shiite-majority Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia inside two months and the implementation of safety and financial cooperation agreements signed greater than 20 years in the past.
Iranian Overseas Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian advised reporters on Sunday that the 2 international locations had agreed to carry a gathering between their high diplomats.
He added that three websites have been proposed for the talks, with out specifying any of them.
The détente between Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, and Iran, deeply at odds with Western governments over its nuclear actions, has the potential to reshape relations throughout a area that has been in turmoil for many years.
Iran and Saudi Arabia again opposing sides in a number of battle zones, together with Yemen, the place Tehran backs the Houthi rebels, and Riyadh leads a army coalition that helps the federal government.
The 2 sides additionally compete for affect in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq.
Various Gulf international locations adopted Riyadh’s strikes in 2016 and diminished relations with Tehran, though the UAE and Kuwait just lately restored relations.
Iran stated final week that it welcomed the restoration of relations with Bahrain after the settlement with Saudi Arabia.
Prior to now, Bahrain has accused Iran of coaching and supporting a Shiite-led rebellion within the Sunni-ruled kingdom with the intention to overthrow the Manama authorities. Tehran denies this.
In September, Iran obtained an Emirati ambassador after an absence of six years, and stated a month in the past that Kuwait had despatched its first ambassador to Tehran since 2016.
A senior Iranian safety official, Ali Shamkhani, additionally held talks with Emirati President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in Abu Dhabi on Thursday, in one other indication of the shift in relations within the area.
(AFP)
