Iran’s Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, praised the increased cooperation between Tehran and Riyadh following the normalization of bilateral ties.
He made these comments during the third Iranian-Arab Dialogue Conference in Tehran, attended by Iranian officials, foreign ambassadors, and guests from other states. Amir-Abdollahian emphasized Iran’s commitment to fostering understanding and solidarity among regional countries, citing the normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia as an example of Iran’s efforts to expand ties with neighboring and Muslim Arab states.
“Our assessment (of the progress) of relations between Tehran and Riyadh over the past year indicates that good success has been achieved in the area of the multi-layered development of bilateral cooperation,” said the Iranian foreign minister, stressing that there are numerous opportunities for the two countries to further enhance their cooperation.
Amir-Abdollahian highlighted that Iran has entered a new phase of cooperation with the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait. He also mentioned that Tehran and Bahrain are exploring the possibility of normalizing bilateral relations.
Last April, Iran and Saudi Arabia formally announced the resumption of diplomatic relations. Saudi Arabia had severed diplomatic ties with Iran in early 2016 following attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran, which were in retaliation to Saudi Arabia’s execution of a Shiite cleric.
