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Iranian diplomats arrive in Saudi Arabia after six years

January 17, 2022 at 1:36 pm

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh in Tehran, Iran on 5 October 2020 [Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu Agency]

Iran sent an official team to Saudi Arabia to start work at a global organisation representing Muslims, a first since the two rivals cut ties in 2016, Iran’s Foreign Ministry announced on Monday, Tehran Times reports.

According to the report, the three Iranian diplomats had arrived in the Saudi city of Jeddah in recent days to represent Iran in the Jeddah-based Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Saeed Khatibzadeh, has expressed Iran’s readiness to reopen Tehran’s embassy in Riyadh, underlining that reopening embassies depends on a Saudi will.

“The focus is on starting the Islamic Republic of Iran’s mission to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah, and our diplomats obtained visas to conduct this feasibility study.” He said.

In December, Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, announced that Saudi Arabia has agreed to issue visas to three of Iran’s diplomats who work as diplomats residing at the headquarters of the OIC.

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