Iran’s Raisi ‘welcomes’ Saudi king’s invitation to visit
- Warming relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran have potential to reshape a region characterised by turbulence for decades
- The two regional heavyweights announced on March 10 a Chinese-brokered deal to restore ties seven years after they were severed
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi has favourably received an invitation from Saudi Arabia’s King Salman to visit the kingdom following the reconciliation deal between the two countries, an Iranian official said Sunday.
“In a letter to President Raisi … the King of Saudi Arabia welcomed the deal between the two brotherly countries (and) invited him to Riyadh,” tweeted Mohammad Jamshidi, the Iranian president’s deputy chief of staff for political affairs, adding that “Raisi welcomed the invitation”.
The two regional heavyweights announced on March 10 a Chinese-brokered deal to restore ties seven years after they were severed.
Riyadh cut relations after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in 2016 following the Saudi execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, one in a series of flashpoints between the two long-standing regional rivals.
The deal is expected to see Shiite-majority Iran and mainly Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia reopen their embassies and missions within two months and implement security and economic cooperation deals signed more than 20 years ago.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told reporters on Sunday that the two countries had agreed to hold a meeting between their top diplomats.
He added that three locations for the talks had been suggested, without specifying which.