Tehran
Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud arrived in Tehran on Thursday, in a rare visit by a senior Saudi royal to the Islamic Republic.
Prince Khalid met Major General Mohammad Bagheri, chief of staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, Iranian news outlet ISNA reported, adding that “developing defense relations and regional cooperation to strengthen peace and stability in the region, as well as combating terrorism, are among the topics of discussion between the two senior defense officials.”
It has been decades since a senior Saudi royal last visited Iran: King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz did so in 1997, when reformist President Mohammad Khatami was in office. Prince Khalid is the son of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
The Saudi-Iranian meeting comes as Tehran engages in talks with the United States to reach a new nuclear agreement, amid threats by the US and Israel to strike Iran’s nuclear facilities if negotiations fail.
Iran has warned that any attack on its territory could ignite a broader regional war.
The US maintains a military presence in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf Arab states neighboring Iran.
The two officials “will hold a number of meetings to discuss bilateral relations and issues of common interest,” state-run Saudi Press Agency said ahead of the meeting.
Bagheri is also a military officer in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Crops (IRGC), which is designated as a terrorist organization by Saudi Arabia.
