Saudi and Iran foreign ministers hold Ramadan call; Vow to meet 'soon'

The Foreign Ministers of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran held a phone call to mark the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. They also agreed to meet “soon” to start the process of re-opening embassies and consulates in the two countries.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, called Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, to congratulate him on the occasion of Ramadan.

The Saudi foreign ministry said in a statement posted on Twitter, "The two ministers agreed to hold a bilateral meeting soon in order to pave the way for the reopening of embassies and consulates between the two countries.”

According to the Saudi state news agency SPA (Saudi Press Agency), the Iranian foreign minister expressed Iran's readiness to strengthen relations with Saudi Arabia.

Earlier this month, the two countries agreed to revive their relations after years of hostility. The deal to revive the relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran was brokered by the People’s Republic of China. The Chinese-brokered rapprochement helped to restore diplomatic ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia after seven years of conflict.

Antonio Guterres, the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), welcomed the latest development in the Middle East region. Many other foreign leaders also welcomed the move.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran was stormed by demonstrators over the execution of prominent Shia Muslim cleric Nimr Baqir al-Nimr in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia said it executed Nimr Baqir al-Nimr over terror-related offences. However, this incident increased tension between the two countries because Iran mostly has Shi'ite Muslims and Saudi Arabia has Sunni Muslims.

Saudi Arabia also accused Iran of conducting drone attacks on its oil facilities in 2019. The Saudi authorities also said that Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement carried out drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.

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