Saudi technical delegation in Iran’s Mashhad to reopen consulate

A technical delegation from Saudi Arabia has visited Iran's northeastern city of Mashhad to inspect the kingdom’s consulate general and explore ways to reopen it.

Head of the representative office of Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Khorasan Razavi, Mohammad Beheshti Monfared, welcomed the Saudi delegation upon its arrival at Mashhad’s Shahid Hasheminejad International Airport on Friday.

He also expressed hope that with the reopening of the political representatives of Tehran and Riyadh, the relations between these two important Muslim states in the region will expand and the nationals of Iran and Saudi Arabia will be able to travel to these two countries as before.

Nasser bin Awad al-Ghanoum, the head of the Saudi delegation, appreciated the foreign ministry’s officials in Mashhad for their warm reception and for facilitating the technical team’s trip to Iran.

He also expressed optimism that the restoration of diplomatic ties between Riyadh and Tehran would lead to further cooperation among regional countries and bring about prosperity to the region.

In the past few days, Iran and Saudi Arabia have exchanged delegations to review the process of reopening their diplomatic missions.

On April 8, a delegation of Saudi technical officials arrived in Iran to visit the kingdom’s diplomatic missions in the Islamic Republic and discuss procedures for reopening them.

The team arrived in the capital, Tehran, a few days after Iran and Saudi Arabia officially restored diplomatic relations, which have been severed over the past seven years.

An Iranian technical delegation also traveled to Saudi Arabia on April 11, to make arrangements for the reopening of Iran’s embassy in Riyadh, the consulate general in Jeddah, and the representative office of Iran at the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).

SS