The Islamic republic of Iran can note two major achievements over the past weekend, which could help shift the regional balance of power in its direction, and cause even more sleepless nights in Jerusalem, Washington and Kyiv.

On Friday, March 10th, Iran and Saudi Arabia announced the restoration of diplomatic relations, following some seven years of hostility which culminated in a very bloody war proxy war in Yemen. The two countries are expected to reopen their respective agencies in each other’s capitals within two months.

Talks, brokered by China (another buckle on Beijing’s belt in becoming the dominant force in establishing a new world order) with the assistance of Iraq and Oman, have been taking place for over a year, but the dramatic announcement was made after four days of intense, secretive negotiations.

The White House said it was informed about the talks and is supportive of the process in order to promote an end to the Yemen war. “This is not about China,” said White House national security spokesperson, John Kirby. “We support any effort to de-escalate tensions in the region. We think that’s in our interests.” It is safe to assume that the US, despite this message, is quite concerned.

Israel displayed much more concern, as another block in the wall of isolating Iran has come tumbling down. A “senior Israeli official” who spoke to reporters over the weekend on behalf of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, blamed the previous government, headed by Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid (on rotation) for this.

“Go ahead and ask them (Bennett and Lapid) why this happened on their watch? It happened because of the impression that Israel and the US were weak,” said the official. It should be noted, though, that the talks between Tehran and Riyadh began in 2021, when Netanyahu was in power.

Netanyahu is also very much interested in an Israel-Saudi peace accord. The official said that the agreement with Iran would not tamper the attempts to reach normalization with Riyadh.

In other Iran-related news, local media reported on Saturday that it has reached a deal to buy advanced Sukhoi-35 fighter jets from Russia. This, in the context of the deepening of relations and cooperation between the two countries, which has been increasingly manifested in Ukraine. While Moscow denies using Iran-built drones in its attacks on Ukraine, many have been recovered on Ukrainian soil after crashing or being shot down.

The Iranian involvement in Ukraine is  another cause of concern for Israel, which is worried about Iranian military forces gaining required training experience and expertise, which would make a potential war much more complicated.  

And let’s not forget the nuclear front, where it would appear that Iranian plans are charging full steam ahead. According to the latest IAEA report, Iran has begun enriching uranium up to 83.7% purity, close to the required 90% in order to create a nuclear weapon.

Image - Reuters