A Reuters witness said Iran’s embassy in Saudi Arabia reopened on Wednesday for the first time in seven years under a pact to calm a long-standing rivalry that has fueled Middle Eastern crises.
A Reuters correspondent saw a crew examining Riyadh’s Iranian embassy’s hefty gates. Then, finally, a white truck arrived at the gate.
The Iranian foreign ministry announced the arrival of a technical group hours before the diplomatic mission began.
“The Iranian team will take the required preparations in Riyadh and Jeddah to establish up the embassy and consulate general,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said in a statement.
After its embassy in Tehran was attacked in 2016, Saudi Arabia suspended ties with Iran. The monarchy ordered Iranian diplomats to depart within 48 hours while evacuating its diplomatic employees from Tehran.
After Saudi Arabia and the UAE joined Yemen’s war, where the Iran-aligned Houthi movement had overthrown a Saudi-backed government and taken over Sanaa, ties worsened a year earlier.
Riyadh accused Iran of arming the Houthis, who attacked Saudi cities with drones and ballistic missiles. In addition, the kingdom blames the Islamic Republic for a 2019 attack on Aramco oil installations that cut half its output.
Iran refused them.
The rivalry between two regional archrivals and large oil producers fueled regional instability. China reached an agreement last month to resolve its diplomatic dispute and reopen its missions.
This month, foreign ministers met in Beijing for the first time.
The Saudi foreign ministry announced Saturday that Saudi officials arrived in Iran to discuss restoring Riyadh’s embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad.
Comment Template