Iranian media and officials reported that the ambassadors of Tehran and Saudi Arabia met in Tajikistan this week, which is the first meeting of its kind in years that brings together officials from the two countries publicly, and comes about two weeks after the signing of the agreement to resume relations between them.
Mehr news agency said that the Saudi ambassador to Tajikistan, Walid bin Abdul Rahman Al-Rasheedan, attended a celebration held by the Iranian embassy in Dushanbe on the occasion of Nowruz.
The Iranian ambassador to Tajikistan, Muhammad Taqi Saberi, posted on his Twitter account a group of photos accompanied by his Saudi counterpart inside the Iranian embassy.
Saberi wrote in his tweet: “We hosted the esteemed ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the celebration of Nowruz and the start of the new year at the Iranian embassy in Tajikistan.”
Saberi added, “The relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as two influential and important countries in the Islamic world in the West Asian region can create a new direction and an increasing role in serving the interests of countries and peoples in the region,” according to the Mehr news agency.
Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed earlier this month to restore relations after years of hostility that threatened stability and security in the Gulf and contributed to fueling conflicts in countries in the Middle East, including Yemen and Syria.
The deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran, brokered by China, was announced after unannounced talks in Beijing between senior security officials from the two countries.
And the official Saudi Press Agency stated, on Thursday, that Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud agreed, in a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Hussein Amir Abdullahian, to hold a bilateral meeting between them soon, in order to “pave the ground for the reopening of embassies and consulates between the two countries.”
Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran in 2016 after storming its embassy in Tehran during a dispute between the two countries over Riyadh’s execution of a Shiite cleric.
The kingdom also accused Iran of being responsible for missile and drone attacks on oil facilities in 2019, as well as attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf waters. Iran denies the allegations.
