RIYADH: Iran’s top diplomat preached unity and dialogue during a visit to Saudi Arabia on Thursday, his first since the two Middle East rivals announced a surprise rapprochement in March.

Ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran “are progressing in the right direction,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told reporters at a press conference with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan, touting economic and security cooperation without announcing any new agreements.

Amir-Abdollahian also took the opportunity to reiterate the Islamic republic’s support for the Palestinian cause at a time when Riyadh is in discussions with the United States about potentially normalising ties with Israel.

He described the conflict as “the most important issue in the Islamic world”, adding: “We continue to support Palestine”.

Thursday’s meeting in the Saudi foreign ministry’s Islamic Solidarity Hall “will be a prelude to the meeting of the heads of the two countries”, he added, without specifying when President Ebrahim Raisi would visit Saudi Arabia at King Salman’s invitation.

“We are sure that these meetings and cooperation will help the unity of the Islamic world.” The foreign ministers did not take questions.

The two countries severed ties in 2016 after Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked during protests over Riyadh’s execution of cleric Nimr al-Nimr.

But in March, a China-brokered deal saw the long-time rivals agree to restore diplomatic relations and reopen their respective embassies. In June, Iran reopened its embassy in Riyadh with a flag-raising ceremony.

Its new ambassador, Alireza Enayati, travelled with Amir-Abdollahian to Riyadh on Thursday.

Earlier this month, Iran said the Saudi embassy in Tehran had begun operations, but Riyadh has yet confirm this or announce an ambassador of its own.

Amir-Abdollahian’s one day stop in Riyadh came two months after Prince Faisal became the first Saudi foreign minister to travel to Iran since 2006.

Since the March deal, Saudi Arabia has ramped up a push for peace in Yemen, holding direct talks with Houthi leaders in April in the Yemeni capital Sanaa. It has also championed the return of key Iran ally Syria to the Arab fold at a summit in May.

On Wednesday, Iranian state media said Iranian and Saudi military officials met in Moscow on the sidelines of a security conference.

At the same time, the two sides have exchanged competing statements over a disputed gas field that Saudi Arabia plans to develop jointly with Kuwait.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2023