Seven years after the severance of bilateral diplomatic relations, Iran reopened its embassy in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, June 6, under the historic agreement reached in March.
The Saudi monarchy had severed its relations with the Islamic Republic in 2016, after the attack on Saudi diplomatic missions by Iranian demonstrators, who protested against the execution of an influential Shiite cleric. The reconciliation between the two Middle Eastern heavyweights was sealed in an agreement reached on March 10, through China.
An official ceremony took place in the premises of the Embassy, ??in the diplomatic district of Riyadh, in the presence of Alizera Bigdeli, Iranian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Chargé d’Affaires, Hassan Zarnegar, and the Director of consular affairs at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ali al-Youssef, according to a journalist from the Agance France-Presse on site.
According to the Iranian press, the Iranian diplomatic mission will be headed by Alireza Enayati, who has notably held the post of deputy foreign minister and that of ambassador to Kuwait. For its part, Saudi Arabia has not yet announced the date of the reopening of its embassy in Tehran, nor the name of its future representative.
Antony Blinken expected in Jeddah
The two rival powers, which have maintained an enmity since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, have often opposed each other on regional issues, sometimes supporting rival camps such as in Syria, Lebanon or Yemen.
Since the thaw began in March, Riyadh has moved closer to Syria, an ally of Tehran, and has intensified its peace efforts in Yemen, where it leads a military coalition that supports the Yemeni government against the Houthi rebels, close to the Iran.
This reopening also coincides with the visit to the kingdom of the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, whose stated goal is to revive the relationship between Washington and Riyadh, which is getting closer to its two enemies, Tehran and Damascus.
Mr. Blinken is expected in the evening in Jeddah, on the Red Sea, where he is expected to meet the crown prince and de facto ruler of the kingdom, Mohammed bin Salman, according to a US official. He will travel to the Saudi capital on Wednesday to take part in a meeting with the foreign ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
