King Salman invites the Iranian president to Saudi Arabia to seal their alliance

Published on : 03/19/2023 – 16:11

An official request. Iranian President Ebrahim Raissi on Sunday (March 19) welcomed an invitation he received from the King of Saudi Arabia to visit Riyadh to seal the rapprochement between the two countries, an Iranian presidential official said. .

“In a letter to President Raissi, King Salman of Saudi Arabia welcomed the agreement reached between the two brotherly countries, invited him to Riyadh and called for strong economic and regional cooperation.”

“Ebrahim Raissi welcomed this invitation,” his deputy chief of staff, Mohammad Jamshidi, tweeted.

Commitment of each to respect the sovereignty of the other

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the two countries had agreed on an upcoming meeting of their foreign chief. He indicated that “three places” had been suggested “to hold this meeting”, without specifying which ones.

This announcement follows that made on March 10 by Tehran and Riyadh of their decision to restore their diplomatic relations within two months following talks in China.

Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran severed ties in 2016 after protesters in the Islamic Republic attacked Saudi diplomatic missions following Riyadh’s execution of a famous Shia cleric.

The agreement between the two rival powers in the Middle East provides for the mutual reopening of embassies, as well as a commitment by each to respect the sovereignty of the other and not to interfere in its “internal affairs”.

In support of Riyadh, other Gulf countries including the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain had reduced their diplomatic ties with Tehran.

In recent months, the Emirates and Kuwait have resumed diplomatic relations with Iran.

With AFP