Mallika Dureja
After seven years of tensions between the Mideast rivals, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on Friday to restore diplomatic relations and reopen embassies. The significant diplomatic breakthrough reached with China reduces the likelihood of armed conflict between the nations, both directly and through proxy conflicts in the region.
The agreement, reached this week in Beijing during the National People’s Congress, represents a significant diplomatic victory for China, as Gulf Arab states perceive the United States to be gradually withdrawing from the greater Middle East. Diplomats have also been attempting to end the years-long conflict in Yemen, in which both Iran and Saudi Arabia are profoundly entrenched.
The two countries issued a joint statement regarding the agreement brokered by China. The agreement was not promptly reported by Chinese state media.
Iranian state media published images and video of the meeting, which they claimed were captured in China. It depicted Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, with Saudi national security adviser Musa bin Mohammed al-Aiban and China’s most senior diplomat, Wang Yi.
“After the resolution is implemented, the foreign ministers of both countries will meet to prepare for an ambassadorial exchange,” Iranian state television reported. The statement added that the negotiations lasted four days.
The joint statement calls for the reestablishment of diplomatic relations and the restoration of embassies “within two months at the most.”
In the footage broadcast by Iranian media, Wang could be heard congratulating the two nations on their “wisdom.””
He stated, “Both factions have demonstrated sincerity.” “China endorses this agreement completely.”
China, which recently hosted the hard-line president of Iran, Ebrahim Raisi, is also one of the leading purchasers of Saudi crude. President Xi Jinping, who was just granted a third five-year tenure as president on Friday, travelled to Riyadh in December to attend meetings with oil-rich Gulf Arab nations vital to China’s energy supply.
Shamkhani was quoted by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency as referring to the discussions “”lucid, transparent, exhaustive, and constructive”
Shamkhani was quoted as saying, “Removing misunderstandings and adopting future-oriented perspectives in relations between Tehran and Riyadh will undoubtedly lead to an improvement in regional stability and security, as well as an increase in cooperation between nations of the Persian Gulf and the Islamic world in addressing current challenges.”
Shortly after the Iranian declaration, Saudi state media began to publish the identical statement.
High tensions exist between Iran and Saudi Arabia. In 2016, the monarchy severed ties with Iran after protesters stormed Saudi diplomatic posts there. A prominent Shiite cleric was executed by Saudi Arabia several days prior to the demonstrations.
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The execution occurred during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s ascent to power, when he was a deputy. Prince Mohammed, the son of King Salman, once compared Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to Adolph Hitler and also threatened to strike Iran.
Since the United States unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear agreement with world powers in 2018, tensions have risen dramatically throughout the Middle East. Since then, Iran has been blamed for a succession of attacks, including one in 2019 that temporarily halved Saudi Arabia’s crude oil output.
