Iran is set to reopen its embassy in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday following a seven-year closure, Tehran and a diplomatic source said, sealing a Chinese-brokered rapprochement deal announced in March.

Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran and consulate in the northwestern city of Mashhad were attacked during protests over Riyadh’s execution of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

Iran’s diplomatic mission, which was expelled by Saudi authorities, will return under the leadership of Alireza Enayati, who previously served as Iran’s ambassador to Kuwait.

Tehran’s foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani announced the reopening in a statement Monday, confirming earlier comments by a diplomatic source in Riyadh.

Iran’s embassy in Riyadh, its consulate in Jeddah and its representative office to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) “will be officially reopened on Tuesday and Wednesday”, Kanani said.

The diplomatic source had earlier told AFP that the opening “will take place on Tuesday at 600pm local time (1500 GMT) with the presence of the newly appointed Iranian ambassador” to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has yet to confirm when it will reopen its embassy in Tehran or its pick for ambassador.

Iranian media had named Enayati as the Islamic republic’s Saudi envoy last month.

He had previously served as assistant to the foreign minister and director general of Gulf affairs at the foreign ministry, according to Iranian reports.

After years of discord, the two Middle East heavyweights signed a surprise reconciliation agreement in China on March 10.

Since then, Saudi Arabia has restored ties with Tehran ally Syria and ramped up a push for peace in Yemen, where it has for years led a military coalition against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Iran and Saudi Arabia had backed opposing sides in conflict zones across the Middle East for years before mending fences.

Opinion

Editorial

Military convictions
Updated 22 Dec, 2024

Military convictions

Pakistan’s democracy, still finding its feet, cannot afford such compromises on core democratic values.
Need for talks
22 Dec, 2024

Need for talks

FOR a long time now, the country has been in the grip of relentless political uncertainty, featuring the...
Vulnerable vaccinators
22 Dec, 2024

Vulnerable vaccinators

THE campaign to eradicate polio from Pakistan cannot succeed unless the safety of vaccinators and security personnel...
Strange claim
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Strange claim

In all likelihood, Pakistan and US will continue to be ‘frenemies'.
Media strangulation
Updated 21 Dec, 2024

Media strangulation

Administration must decide whether it wishes to be remembered as an enabler or an executioner of press freedom.
Israeli rampage
21 Dec, 2024

Israeli rampage

ALONG with the genocide in Gaza, Israel has embarked on a regional rampage, attacking Arab and Muslim states with...