SAUDI ARABIA, IRAN ‘PREPARING TO REOPEN EMBASSIES,’ SAYS IRANIAN LAWMAKER

Sun 16 January 2022:

According to a top Iranian politician, arch-foes Iran and Saudi Arabia are cautiously working toward peace and are prepared to rebuild embassies six years after cutting diplomatic ties.

In a tweet on Saturday, Jalil Rahimi Jahanabadi, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s national security and foreign policy commission, said the two countries are on track to mend their strained ties.

Following the murder of a prominent Shia cleric, Sheikh Baqir Nimr, in Saudi Arabia, the two neighbors fell out in January 2016, resulting in attacks on two Saudi diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad.

Four rounds of tension-easing meetings between officials from the two nations have been held in Baghdad since April last year, brokered by the Iraqi government, in an effort to mend the shattered ties.

While Iranian officials have noted progress in the protracted negotiations, Jahanabadi’s latest comments hint that a breakthrough is on the horizon.

The senior reformist lawmaker, who previously headed the parliament’s judicial and legal committee, said diplomatic ties between the two countries are being “revived,” with preparations afoot to “open the embassies.”

He said the rapprochement between Tehran and Riyadh could contribute to “reducing regional tensions and increasing the cohesion of the Muslim world.”

Jahanabadi, however, warned the country’s security agencies and media about what he called “vicious activities of Zionists and imprudent acts of radicals” to thwart efforts being made to restore relations with Riyadh.

The negotiations to end the standoff were launched by the previous Iranian government and continued under the new administration led by Ebrahim Raisi.

Earlier this month, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian expressed Tehran’s “readiness” to continue talks with Riyadh, which were halted following the general elections in Iraq.

He said Tehran had presented “a set of practical proposals” to Riyadh, which elicited “positive response,” paving the ground for the next round of talks in Baghdad.

Last week, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said the next round of talks between Tehran and Riyadh was “on the agenda,” without specifying the exact date.

On whether developments in Lebanon or Yemen would have any bearing on the outcome of talks, the spokesman said Iran has “tried to continue the talks despite the differences.”

Despite the new Iranian government’s push to reorient its foreign policy priorities from the west to the east, many say the war in Yemen could still operate as a stumbling block to a full restoration of diplomatic ties.

Raisi stated there was “no obstacle” to establishing a dialogue with Saudi Arabia and reopening the embassies in his first press conference after winning the election in June last year.

Iranians will travel to Saudi Arabia for the Umrah pilgrimage for the first time in seven years, thanks to the restoration of diplomatic ties between the estranged neighbors.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

TWITTER (CLICK HERE)
https://twitter.com/IpIndependent