Iran, Saudi military officials meet for first time since rapprochement

Iranian and Saudi Arabian military officials have met at the sidelines of the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security, the first time since the two countries resumed diplomatic relations as part of a Chinese-brokered deal in March, ending six years of severed ties.

Talal Al-Otaibi, an aide to the Saudi defence minister, met with Aziz Nasirzadeh, the deputy chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces at the event. According to IRNA, the meeting included an agreement between the two sides on exchanging military attachés “as soon as possible.”

A rare but probably one of the most notable meetings between Saudi and Iranian officials took place in Moscow.

Improving military to military links is a critical step, but also the most difficult one, to make the Saudi-Iran deal sustainable. pic.twitter.com/wHvO0kC0bO

— Abdolrasool Divsallar (@Divsallar) August 17, 2023

It was also reported that the officials conveyed the commitment of both sides’ “will for operationalisation” of the reconciliation agreement. Al-Otaibi also held separate meetings with defence officials from Russia, China and Pakistan. Yesterday, it was also reported that China’s Defence Minister Li Shangfu expressed Beijing’s willingness to forge stronger military cooperation with Tehran, following its fully-fledged membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) last month.

Amid the budding détente between Riyadh and Tehran, it has been announced today by Saudi state media that Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is to visit the kingdom this weekend as part of a one-day trip, where he will hold talks with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal Bin Farhan.

READ: TIMELINE – Saudi-Iran ties: A history of ups and downs