From Tehmina Mustapha
TEHRAN: Signalling a thaw in years of hostility with Saudi Arabia, Iran has sent an official invite to Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said Monday.
“Iranian President (Ebrahim Raisi) has sent an invitation to the Saudi king in return for an invitation by Riyadh for him,” Nasser Kanaani said during a televised news conference, according to Arab News.
The development comes soon after Saudi officials visited Iran earlier this month to discuss the reopening of Riyadh’s embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad, following a deal — brokered by China — that aims to restore diplomatic relations between the two countries in March.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported that delegations from both countries are preparing to officially reo-pen their missions, which would restart their activities by May 9.
The deal in March to end the conflict was brokered by Chinese President Xi Jinping and surprised all sides, effectively sidelining the United States.
The move aimed to ease tensions in the Middle East. Sour relations between Tehran and Riyadh have fuelled several conflicts — both direct and indirect — across the Middle East. The diplomatic rift between the two countries goes back seven years.
The two states have been on bad terms since 2016, when Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran after its embassy in Tehran was stormed during a dispute between the two countries following Riyadh’s execution of a Shi’ite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
Iran and Saudi Arabia support rival sides in several conflict zones across the Middle East, including in Yemen where the Houthi rebels are backed by Tehran, and Riyadh leads a military coalition supporting the government.
“Following talks, the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume diplomatic rela-tions and reopen embassies and missions within two months,” Iran’s state news agency IRNA said, citing the joint statement.
As a result of Beijing accord, the two rivals begun to melt harsh ties, while Arab nations and organizations have praised the successful three-day prisoner exchange between the Yemeni government and the Houthis amid renewed efforts from Saudi Arabia to mediate a lasting peace between the warring factions.
Mohammed Al-Jaber, the Kingdom’s envoy to Yemen, and delegation from Oman went to Sanaa last week to discuss with the Houthis ‘stabilize the truce and ceasefire’ and, eventually, end conflict in the war-torn country.
The multi-day humanitarian operation transferred nearly 900 detainees into and out of several cities in Yemen and Saudi Arabia under the auspices of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
The Arab Parliament, in a statement, welcomed the prisoner exchange operation and stressed that these ‘efforts were part of the Arab’s continuous efforts to calm the situation in Yemen and reach a comprehensive political solution that ends the Yemeni crisis.’
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation’s (OIC) secretary general Hissein Brahim Taha also lauded the prisoner ex-change as an important humanitarian operation, which took place during the holy month of Ramadan.
The OIC leader expressed hope that the prisoner swap would give a new boost to efforts of achieving peace in Yemen through the mediation efforts of Saudi Arabia and Oman.
Egypt’s foreign affairs ministry meanwhile described the prisoner transfer as “a positive and significant step towards renewing the Yemeni truce and achieving comprehensive and sustainable peace.
Cairo also expressed full support for efforts to restore security and stability in Yemen and alleviate the humanitarian crisis that Yemenis are facing.
The Jordanian foreign affairs ministry meanwhile praised the important role the UN and ICRC played in sponsoring the prisoner exchange operations and hailed the efforts made by Saudi Arabia and Oman’s delegations with regard to the agreement.
Both sides are optimistic of more prisoner exchanges in the future, with the Houthi side planning to propose exchang-ing 1,400 people during the next round of discussions while Yemeni government ‘dedicated to exchanging all detain-ees with the Houthis as well as clearing jails of those who had been kidnapped or forcefully vanished during the war.’
