Saudi Crown Prince hosts Iran FM in Riyadh
\n RIYADH
\nIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for talks that were expected to cover efforts to end fighting between the Israeli military and Iran-backed groups in Gaza and Lebanon.
\n\u201cI hope that these consultations can lead to better conditions for Palestine and Lebanon and establish peace in the region,\u201d Araghchi told Iranian state television upon his arrival in Riyadh.
\nEarlier on Wednesday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on X that Araghchi\u2019s visit would focus on stopping \u201cthe Israeli regime\u2019s genocide & aggression\u201d and aimed to \u201calleviate the pain and suffering of our brothers and sisters in Gaza and Lebanon\u201d.
\nThe official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that Araghchi met with Saudi Arabia\u2019s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
\nHe also met his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, to discuss \u201cdevelopments in the region\u201d, SPA said, without providing details.
\nAraghchi\u2019s visit to Saudi Arabia comes as the region awaits Israel\u2019s response to an Iranian missile attack on its territory last week.
\n\u201cSaudi will confirm that it will not allow any party to use its airspace to attack the other and will also agree to any call for a ceasefire in Lebanon or Gaza,\u201d Ali Shihabi, a Saudi analyst close to the government, told AFP.
\nIn Beirut on Friday, Araghchi said Tehran supports efforts for a \u201csimultaneous\u201d ceasefire in Lebanon and the Palestinian territory.
\nThe Islamic republic called Hamas\u2019s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel \u201ca turning point in the history of the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people against Israel\u201d.
\nIran and Saudi Arabia resumed relations in March 2023 under a surprise China-brokered deal following a seven-year rupture. Iran has repeatedly accused its arch-foe Israel of committing genocide and war crimes since the Gaza war began.
\nSaudi Arabia, the world\u2019s biggest oil exporter and custodian of Islam\u2019s two holiest sites, paused US-brokered talks on recognising Israel after the Gaza war broke out.
\nSaudi officials said they wanted a pathway towards a Palestinian state as a condition of normalisation.
\nBut last month, the kingdom\u2019s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, toughened his tone, explicitly saying that an \u201cindependent Palestinian state\u201d was necessary.
\nSince the March 2023 Iranian-Saudi rapprochement was announced, the regional powers have intensified their contacts despite supporting different camps in several conflicts, most notably in Syria and Yemen.
\nThe two exchanged ambassadors and visits of foreign ministers before the late Ebrahim Raisi made the first visit by an Iranian president to the kingdom in 20 years to attend a joint Arab-Islamic summit to discuss the Gaza war last November.
\nIn August, Ali Bagheri, then Iran\u2019s acting foreign minister, visited Jeddah for an extraordinary session of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.
\nAraghchi assumed the post of Iranian foreign minister later in August.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Saudi Crown Prince hosts Iran FM in Riyadh RIYADH Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi travelled to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday for talks that were expected to cover efforts to end fighting between the Israeli military and Iran-backed groups in Gaza and Lebanon. \u201cI hope that these consultations can lead to better conditions for Palestine and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":436558,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-436537","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n