Iran to reopen embassy in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Tehran will reopen its embassy in Riyadh this week following a seven year closure after ties were severed, the Iranian foreign ministry said Monday, after a Chinese-brokered deal in February restored burned bridges between the countries. 

The Iranian embassy in Riyadh, its consulate in Jeddah, and the Permanent Mission to the Organizaation (OIC), “will be officially reopened on Tuesday and Wednesday,” foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said. 

Tehran’s diplomatic mission in Riyadh will be headed by Alireza Enayati, who previously served as the Iranian ambassador to Kuwait. 

Iran and Saudi Arabia announced in February that they were restoring ties after decades of bitter relations that culminated in severing their respective diplomatic missions in 2016. The agreement followed five rounds of talks in Beijing between top security officials of both countries.

Riyadh meanwhile has not yet confirmed whether it would reopen its mission in Tehran and has not named an ambassador. 

The countries severed ties in 2016 when Iranian protestors attacked the Saudi diplomatic missions in Tehran in retaliation to the kingdom’s execution of prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr. 

Both countries have had rocky relations since 1979, when Shiite revolutionaries came to power in Iran and pledged to export their revolution to the world, including Gulf countries. 

Amid the restoration of ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran, the United States has been pushing for Riyadh to restore ties with Israel, a bitter foe of Tehran. 

Before departing for Riyadh on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that it is in Washington’s security interests for a normalization agreement to take place between Saudi Arabia and Israel. 

“The United States has a real national security interest in promoting normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia. We believe we can and indeed must play an integral role in advancing it,” he said before flying to Riyadh. 

The normalization agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia, however, has complicated the prospect of a similar agreement between the latter and Israel. 

Iran and Israel are bitter foes, with Israel considering Iran as its greatest enemy, citing its nuclear program, military activities, and support for hostile militant groups. 

The Chinese-brokered rapprochement followed two years of mediation from Iraq, with Baghdad previously hosting five rounds of talks beginning in 2021 between the regional powers which brought them closer to the final agreement reached in Beijing. Oman also mediated discussions.