ISLAMABAD: An Iranian official Sunday stated that Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi had “welcomed” Saudi Arabian King Salman’s invitation for him to visit the kingdom. The invitation follows the recent reconciliation deal between the two countries.
Iranian presidential official Mohammad Jamshidi in a Twitter post said: “In a letter to (Iran’s) President Raisi… the King of Saudi Arabia welcomed the deal between the two brotherly countries (and) invited him to Riyadh,” adding that “Raisi welcomed the invitation”.
Invitation by King Salman comes after deal to restore ties
The two regional powers had announced on March 10 a Chinese-brokered pact to restore ties 7 years after they were severed.
Riyadh cut ties after protesters in Iran attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in 2016 after the Saudi authorities executed cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
The deal is expected to see Iran and Saudi Arabia reopening their missions and embassies within 2 months and implement security and economic cooperation deals signed more than 2 decades ago.
Speaking to reporters, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian Sunday said that the 2 countries agreed to hold a meeting between their top diplomats.
He added that 3 locations for the talks had been suggested, without specifying which.
A number of Gulf countries followed Riyadh’s move in 2016 and severed ties with Tehran, though Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates have recently restored ties.
