Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s expected attendance at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation meeting today will be his first trip to Saudi Arabia since the two Middle East heavyweights reached a surprise rapprochement deal in March, ending seven years of severed ties.

According to AFP, analysts say Saudi Arabia feels vulnerable to potential attacks because of its close ties with Washington and the fact that it was considering normalising ties with Israel before the war broke out.

Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Friday condemned “continued violations of international humanitarian law by the Israeli occupation forces” — his first public comments on the war — though Riyadh has levelled similar criticism in multiple statements.

Kim Ghattas, author of a book on the Iran-Saudi rivalry, said during a panel organised by the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington that “the Saudis are hoping that the fact they didn’t normalise yet, and the fact that they have a channel to the Iranians, gives them some protection.

“And I think the Iranians are hoping that the fact that they’re intouch with the Saudis and maintaining that channel, that it gives themsome protection too.”