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On September 5, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Iran arrived in the country as the Kingdom welcomed his Iranian counterpart.
Tehran and Riyadh severed ties in 2016 after Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked during protests over Riyadh’s execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. However, the two countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations following breakthrough talks which were held in the Chinese capital, Beijing, last March.
Later in April, the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia officially announced the resumption of relations with immediate effect.
Upon arriving in Tehran, Saudi Ambassador Abdullah Alanazi said that the Kingdom’s leadership recognises the “importance of strengthening ties, increasing engagement … and taking the [relationship] to broader horizons,” according to a Saudi Foreign Ministry statement.
Meanwhile, Iran’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Alireza Enayati, arrived in Riyadh where he was received by foreign ministry officials and embassy staff, according to Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency.
Alanazi was formerly Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to Oman, while Enyati worked in the past as Iran’s ambassador to Kuwait.
Iran marked the reopening of its embassy in Riyadh with a flag-raising ceremony last June. Later in August, Saudi Arabia’s embassy in Tehran resumed operations.
The Iranian-Saudi rapprochement led to several positive developments in the Middle East, from advancing peace talks in Yemen, where the Kingdom has been battling the Iran-aligned Houthis (Ansar Allah) for the last eight years, to restoring Syria’s seat in the Arab League.
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