Saudi foreign minister to visit Tehran
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Faisal bin Farhan, is set to travel to Tehran on Saturday, June 17, in order to meet with Iranian officials, Iranian Tasnim news agency, reported on Thursday.
During the Prince Faisal’s meeting, Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran, which has remained closed since 2016, will reopen, Tasnim added.
The countries’ two foreign ministers met in Beijing in April. A Saudi delegation to Tehran followed that same month. Saudi Arabia and Iran have been normalizing ties since a Chinese-brokered deal in March.
Iran and Saudi Arabia broke off diplomatic relations in 2016. Since then, both have been involved in opposing sides of regional conflicts, including in Syria and Yemen.
The recent rapprochement is part of a regional shift which has led to a normalization of ties between traditional rivals, including Bashar al-Assad’s government and its neighbors.