Iran, Saudi foreign ministers to meet 'in the coming days': Amir-Abdollahian

Saudi Arabia and Iran's foreign minister agreed over the phone to meet 'in the coming days' with the exact time and place to be reportedly scheduled in the next 48 hours.

MENA

2 min read

The New Arab Staff

03 April, 2023

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has held three phone calls with his Saudi counterpart [Getty]

The foreign ministers of regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia are expected to meet "in the coming days", according to the Iranian foreign ministry.

Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian held a telephone conversation with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisan bin Farhan on Sunday following the recent warming of ties between the two countries, promising to meet "in the coming days".

Tehran and Riyadh broke ties in 2016 after Riyadh's diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked following the execution of influential Shia cleric Nimr Al-Nimr by Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry did not mention the upcoming meeting but confirmed that the two leading diplomats discussed "the next steps in light of the recent tripartite agreement", referring to a Chinese-brokered deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran struck last month.

#Saudi-#Iran FMs to finalize time, venue of meeting in 48 hours https://t.co/tKfVHSw0KS pic.twitter.com/sYoadlw19e
— IRNA News Agency (@IrnaEnglish) April 2, 2023

This was the third phone conversation between the foreign ministers in the past few weeks and a fourth is scheduled over the next 48 hours when the diplomats will finalise a date for their planned meeting.

Iranian and Saudi security officials met in Beijing and on 10 March agreed to reopen their embassies and consulates in what was seen as a landmark bilateral deal.

Ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia have been strained for decades, and the tensions came to a head in 2016 following the execution of Al-Nimr.