Speaking in Lebanon, Hossein Amirabdollahian says he met his Saudi counterpart last month in highest level talks in seven years. Talks between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia are continuing and could eventually restore diplomatic relations that were severed years ago, Iran’s foreign minister said Friday.
Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters in Beirut Friday that he met Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud during a conference in Jordan last month that was attended by Middle Eastern and European officials. The meeting between Amirabdollahian and Prince Faisal was the highest-level encounter between the two countries since they cut relations seven years ago.
Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia and Iran, which is majority Shiite, have been at odds since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, but relations worsened after the 2016 execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr by Riyadh. The incident set off protests in both countries.
“We welcome the restoration of normal relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Amirabdollahian said. The hope, he added, is that eventually “we reach (an agreement on) reopening diplomatic missions and embassies in Riyadh and Tehran.”
Source TOI/ Photo Bilal Hussein