SAUDI, IRAN FOREIGN MINISTERS TO MEET DURING RAMADAN TO IMPLEMENT LANDMARK DEAL

In an effort to put into effect a historic bilateral reconciliation agreement that was mediated by China, Iran and Saudi Arabia’s top diplomats have agreed to meet before the end of the fasting month of Ramadan.

The decision was reached after a second phone call in less than a week between the Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Prince Faisal bin Farhan, according to t he official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Monday.

The exact date and location of the meeting were not specified in the report.

Ramadan started last week and will conclude in the third week of April.

According to Saudi officials, the meeting is the next step in reestablishing ties seven years after they were severed.

Riyadh severed ties after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in 2016 in response to the Saudi execution of Shia Muslim leader Nimr al-Nimr — just one of many flashpoints between the two long-standing regional rivals.

The agreement calls for Shia-majority Iran and Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia to reopen embassies and missions within two months and to implement security and economic cooperation agreements signed more than 20 years ago.

An Iranian official said on March 19 that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi had favourably received an invitation to visit Saudi Arabia from King Salman, though Riyadh has yet to confirm.