Iran invites Saudi King to visit Tehran - Iran Foreign Ministry spokesperson

Iran’s top security official Ali Shamkhani (R), Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi (C) and Musaid Al Aiban, the Saudi Arabia’s national security adviser, pose for a photo after Iran and Saudi Arabia agree to resume diplomatic ties after several days of deliberations in Beijing, China on 10 March 2023 [Chinese Foreign Ministry/Anadolu Agency]

Iran has officially invited Saudi Arabia’s King to visit the country, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Monday, after the two regional rivals agreed to end years of hostility following a China-brokered agreement in March, Reuters reports.

After years of bad relations that fuelled proxy conflicts across the Middle East, where Tehran and Riyadh backed opposite sides from Yemen to Syria, the Shia revolutionary Iran and the Sunni-led Kingdom reached an agreement to end a seven-year diplomatic rift.

“Iranian President (Ebrahim Raisi) has sent an invitation to the Saudi King in return for an invitation by Riyadh for him,” Nasser Kanaani told a televised news conference.

Technical delegations from both countries are preparing to officially re-open their missions, and Tehran said these missions would restart their activities by 9 May, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News agency reported.

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