Saudi Arabia Shows Keen Interest to Bolster Ties with Iran After the Country Gets a New President

Masoud Pezeshkian was congratulated on becoming the president of Iran by the king and crown prince of Saudi Arabia, according to a Saturday report from the official news agency SPA.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was quoted by SPA as stating, “I affirm my keenness on developing and deepening the relations between our countries and people and serve our mutual interests.”

After years of regional enmity, Iran and Saudi Arabia signed a historic agreement in March 2023, mediated by China.

Officials from both sides have since kept up their ongoing ties-building discussions.

Bilateral Relations Between Iran and Saudi Arabia so far…

Bilateral relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia have been strained over several geopolitical issues, such as aspirations for regional leadership, oil export policy and relations with the United States and other Western countries.

The rivalries between the two regions have existed for over forty years, first at a low level during the détente era of the 1990s and then at an increased level throughout the last twenty years. Seven years ago, Riyadh formally broke off relations with Tehran. The countries’ efforts to patch things up were well known—Iraq and Oman had hosted earlier rounds of negotiations between Saudi and Iranian officials—but neither the speed nor the role played by China in mediating the agreement were anticipated.

But on 10th March 2023, Following five days of covert meetings in Beijing, the Chinese capital, representatives of Iran and Saudi Arabia declared that they had reached a deal to reestablish diplomatic ties between their two nations.