Riyadh
\nSaudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) Friday held discussions with Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, marking the most significant level of bilateral talks since their reconciliation in March, Reuters reported.
\nTaking place unexpectedly in Jeddah, this meeting occurred a day subsequent to Amirabdollahian\u2019s arrival in Saudi Arabia.
\nAmirabdollahian had previously engaged in discussions with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and expressed his belief that the relations between the two countries were \u201con the right track.\u201d
\n\u201cDiscussions were frank, beneficial and productive,\u201d Amirabdollahian said in a social media post after meeting MbS, adding that the countries \u201cagree on the security and development of all in the region\u201d.
\nFootage of the meeting on Iranian state media showed MbS and Amirabdollahian smiling as they spoke, while Prince Faisal and the Iranian delegation looked on. Saudi state news agency SPA said they discussed international and regional developments.
\nThe rivalry between Iran\u2019s revolutionary leaders and Saudi Arabia\u2019s ruling family dominated the Middle East for years as they competed for influence in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Bahrain amid a wave of sectarian bloodshed.
\nHowever, China brokered a rapprochement in March leading to a resumption of full diplomatic relations, which Saudi Arabia had broken off in 2016 when protesters attacked its Tehran embassy over Riyadh\u2019s execution of a prominent Shi\u2019ite cleric.
\nPrince Faisal visited Tehran in June and said he hoped Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi would visit the kingdom at the \u201cappropriate time\u201d.
\nAfter years of competition, and with some of the main regional arenas for their competition more stable than in previous years, both sides have reason to change tack.
\nIran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei wanted to end political and economic isolation pushed by the United States and saw new relations with Saudi Arabia as a way to do so, Iranian officials have said. Saudi Arabia had meanwhile lost confidence in the US commitment to shared regional security concerns and wanted to bolster ties with China, which has retained good relations with Iran.
\nThis month it succeeded in getting China to attend a diplomatic meeting on Ukraine that Beijing had earlier avoided.
\nPrince Faisal also spoke by phone with US Secretary General Antony Blinken, with the pair discussing more coordination to boost \u201csecurity and stability in the Middle East region,\u201d Saudi state media reported on Friday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Riyadh Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) Friday held discussions with Iran\u2019s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, marking the most significant level of bilateral talks since their reconciliation in March, Reuters reported. Taking place unexpectedly in Jeddah, this meeting occurred a day subsequent to Amirabdollahian\u2019s arrival in Saudi Arabia. Amirabdollahian had previously engaged in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350203,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-350183","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n