The Saudi Arabian embassy in Iran was stormed by demonstrators in 2016, and the two countries have since severed diplomatic relations.
Iran and Saudi Arabia, considered arch-enemies in the Middle East, have signed an agreement to restore diplomatic ties seven years following they broke off diplomatic ties.
Officials from the two countries made the unexpected announcement on Friday (March 10) following four days of negotiations in Beijing mediated by China.
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran in January 2016 following the government in Riyadh executed the prominent Shia Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr and protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
Relations between the two neighboring countries, led by Sunnis and Shiites respectively, have been tense since then.
They see each other as threats seeking regional dominance. In the Middle East, the rivalry between the two countries has spread to Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and other places, supporting hostile camps in these countries, most openly in Yemen.
Iran-backed Shia Houthi rebels overthrew the Saudi-backed government in 2014, and Saudi Arabia has since led a massive airstrike once morest the Houthis, which has wreaked havoc.
Saudi Arabia has also accused Iran of helping the Houthis attack the kingdom.
The most serious of these incidents was the drone and missile attack on Saudi oil facilities in 2019, causing damage and disrupting production. Saudi Arabia and its U.S. allies blamed Iran for the attack, which Tehran denies.
Beijing mediates, U.S. not involved
Previous attempts by all parties to repair relations between the two countries have been unsuccessful, but on Friday (March 10), Saudi Arabia and Iran said that they would reopen their embassies in each other’s countries within two months and would restart their operations. Trade and security affairs relations.
According to the news, under the chairmanship of Wang Yi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Director of the Foreign Affairs Office, Saudi Arabian Minister of State and National Security Advisor Musaad bin Mohammed Al-Aiban and Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Shamkhani attended the closing of the dialogue ceremony. The two sides also reached the “Beijing Agreement” on the same day, and China, Saudi Arabia and Iran signed a joint statement.
Beijing called the dialogue “a new page in Saudi-Iranian relations”.
Wang Yi said that the resumption of diplomatic relations between Shah and Iran “is a victory for dialogue and peace, and provides great news for the current turbulent world.”
In this regard, the United States expressed its cautious welcome.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the administration supported “all efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region,” but added: “It remains to be seen whether Iran will meet its obligations.”
Archyde.com quoted Kirby as saying that Saudi Arabia has always informed the U.S. regarding the resumption of diplomatic talks with Iran in Beijing, but the U.S. has not directly participated in the relevant negotiations.
He pointed out that the consensus line reached on Friday was the result of many previous dialogues, including past negotiations in Baghdad and Oman, and Saudi Arabia’s effective prevention of attacks by Iran and its proxies before finally bringing Iran back to the negotiating table.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres thanked China for brokering the deal.
Guterres’ spokesman said the secretary-general was ready to help “ensure continued peace and security in the Gulf region”.
Israel, which has previously called for maximum pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, declined to comment.
The history of the rivalry between two old enemies in the Middle East
image source,Archyde.com/EPA
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (left) and Saudi Crown Prince bin Salman.
Saudi Arabia and Iran, the two major Middle Eastern countries, are adjacent to each other and have been competing for regional dominance for many years.
This confrontational relationship is further amplified by religious differences. The two countries respectively believe in two major branches of Islam – most of Iran is Shiite Muslims, while Saudi Arabia represents the leading force of Sunni Muslims. Countries in the Middle East have gradually formed two camps in response to this sectarian difference.
Iran’s Islamic Revolution in 1979 installed a new theocratic government, and it has since made it its mission to expand that model to other regions.
After the United States invaded and overthrew the Iraqi Sunni Arab regime led by Saddam Hussein in 2003, the influence of Iran’s Shiites in the country and the Middle East has expanded. This change, especially in the military, shook the pattern of the Middle East at that time.
After a series of revolutions and political turmoil in the Arab world in 2011, both Saudi Arabia and Iran hoped to use the turmoil to expand their influence.
Tensions between Shah and Iraq are spreading in other countries, and Yemen is one of the main battlegrounds.
While Iran’s regional power is on the rise, Saudi Arabia, driven by de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has taken a series of actions to try to contain Iran’s power, including launching an insurgency once morest the Houthi in Yemen armed war.
Relevant United Nations reports show that Iran has been supplying weapons and technology to the Houthis in Yemen, but Iran has repeatedly denied it.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia also has the support of the Trump administration and Israel to a certain extent, trying to contain Iran.
Israel and Saudi Arabia are the staunchest opponents of the 2015 international agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear program, arguing that it goes far enough to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
The rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran has largely been seen as a Middle Eastern version of the “Cold War” – with the two sides on the brink of military conflict, but mainly through supporting proxies in other countries, rather than directly fighting.