Saudi Arabia received on Wednesday an Iranian delegation, which came to reopen the diplomatic missions in the kingdom as well as the head of the Syrian diplomacy, as part of a thaw that redraws the regional map in the Middle East. The visit of the Iranian delegation takes place a few days after a historic meeting in Beijing of the heads of diplomacy of the two countries, which severed ties in 2016. The visit of the Syrian Foreign Minister, Faisal Meqdad, takes place before the organization, on Friday, in Saudi Arabia, of a meeting of nine countries in the region to discuss a possible return of Syria to the Arab League, whose next regular summit will be hosted by the kingdom on May 19. The Saudi and Syrian ministers discussed the “necessary steps to reach a full political solution to the Syrian crisis,” the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The objective is to achieve “a national reconciliation and bring Syria back into the Arab family and resume its natural role in the Arab world,” the statement added.

Syria was diplomatically isolated after the 2011 suppression of a popular uprising that triggered a civil war that has become more complex over the years with the intervention of several countries and foreign armed groups. More and more Arab countries are currently in favor of reopening the border with Syria. “Iranians and Syrians are in Saudi Arabia on the same day. It’s totally crazy, and it was unthinkable a few months ago,” an Arab diplomat accredited to Riyadh told AFP. Saudi Arabia and Iran recently struck a deal, brokered by China, to resume relations and are set to reopen their embassies by mid-May and implement economic and security cooperation agreements signed more than 20 years ago. Arriving in Riyadh on Wednesday, the Iranian delegation will take the necessary measures to open the embassy and consulate general in Riyadh and Jeddah, as well as to carry out the work of the Permanent Representative of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Organization for Islamic Cooperation”, announced the spokesperson of the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Nasser Kanani Saudi Arabia and Iran cut ties after Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked by demonstrators denouncing Saudi Arabia’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric.

On Saturday, a Saudi diplomatic delegation traveled to Tehran to discuss the reopening of the kingdom’s diplomatic representation in Iran. Kanani specified that a “technical delegation” of Saudi Arabia will leave on Thursday for Mashhad, the second most populous city in Iran. Last week, the Iranian and Saudi foreign ministers, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian and Faisal bin Farhane, held talks in Beijing regarding the implementation ofnormalization that began in the Chinese capital on March 10. This rapprochement would be officially confirmed during a visit by Iranian President Ebrahim Raissi to Riyadh, at the invitation of King Salman, scheduled after the end of Ramadan, at the end of April. Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the two countries have maintained an enmity characterized by often opposing positions on regional issues, sometimes supporting rival camps in Syria, Lebanon, or Yemen. Their rapprochement is likely to change the regional situation, especially since it coincides with a thaw in relations between Riyadh and Damascus. In 2012, the Saudi kingdom severed relations with Syria, where it supported the rebels at the beginning of the conflict. But after the Feb. 6 earthquake that devastated southern Turkey and parts of Syria, Riyadh sent aid to both government-held and rebel-held areas. The two countries also started discussions regarding the resumption of consular services.

By Cora Sulleyman