T. Belman. This is bad news for Israel. SA said that to join the AA, they needed stuff from the US. Obviously they are embracing Iran without anything from the US. Blood is thicker than water.
Does this mean that Iran is no longer a threat to SA? Does it mean that China is replacing the US in the ME.
Tehran and Riyadh sent officials for talks in China, where eventually Iran-Saudi ties were restored.
By REUTERS
TOP: The flag of Iran BOTTOM: The flag of Saudi Arabia (photo credit: Canva, Wikimedia Commons)
Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations after talks in Beijing between officials from the two rival Middle East powers, Iranian state media reported on Friday.
The agreement was reached after talks in Beijing between top security officials from the two rival Middle East powers.
“As a result of the talks, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to resume diplomatic relations and re-open embassies…within two months,” Iranian news agency IRNA reported.
Iranian and Saudi media said a statement by the two countries emphasized respect for sovereignty and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.
Saudi Arabia’s state news agency said they also agreed to activate a security cooperation agreement signed in 2001, as well as another earlier accord on trade, economy and investment.
Iran’s top security official, Ali Shamkhani, who signed the agreement with Saudi Arabia’s national security adviser, Musaed bin Mohammed Al-Aiban, praised China for its role in the rapprochement, Iran’s Nour News reported. Both Saudi Arabia and Iran thanked Iraq and Oman for hosting talks in 2021 and 2022.
China’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A White House national security spokesperson said the United States was aware of reports of the agreement and welcomed any efforts to help end the war in Yemen and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East.
Iranian-Saudi diplomatic history
The two leading Shi’ite and Sunni Muslim powers in the Middle East have been at odds for years, and backed opposite sides in proxy wars from Yemen to Syria and elsewhere.
Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran was stormed during a dispute between the two countries over Riyadh’s execution of a Shi’ite Muslim cleric.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said that normalizing relations offered great prospects for both countries and for the Middle East, and hinted at further steps.
“The neighborhood policy, as the key axis of the Iranian government’s foreign policy, is strongly moving in the right direction and the diplomatic apparatus is actively behind the preparation of more regional steps,” Amirabdollahian tweeted.
A senior Iranian security official said Friday’s agreement had been endorsed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
“That is why Shamkhani traveled to China as the supreme leader’s representative,” the official told Reuters. “The establishment wanted to show that the top authority in Iran backed this decision.”
Oman, Iraq welcome resumption of diplomatic ties between Riyadh and Tehran
Oman welcomes a trilateral statement between Saudi Arabia, Iran and China on the resumption of diplomatic ties between Riyadh and Tehran, the foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.
Iraq has also welcomed “turning a new page” between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the state news agency said, as its two neighbors agreed on Friday to re-establish relations after seven years of hostility.
Iraq has welcomed “turning a new page” between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the state news agency said.
The two countries have thanked Iraq for hosting previous talks.
Both Oman and Iraq have hosted talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia in the past, something which the two countries thanked them for.
My friend Abed Amaala tweeted that it will never be consummated because it is conditional, at Saudi request, of Iran’s militias first withdrawing from Arab capitals.
Israel must maintain its qualitative military edge. Saudi Arabia’s demand for advanced weapons as a condition for normalization with Israel is as unacceptable as its conditions with regard to the pals. Better to just leave things as they are. None of Israel’s so-called, “allies” can be trusted beyond next week.