FM: Tehran to soon appoint ambassador to Saudi Arabia

Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian says Tehran will soon appoint an ambassador to Riyadh, following a China-brokered agreement in March that ended a seven-year rupture in Saudi-Iranian relations.

The top diplomat made the remarks in an interview with ICANA, a news agency affiliated with the Iranian Parliament, that was published on Wednesday.

He noted the details of the reopening of the Saudi embassy in Tehran will soon be announced.

The restoration of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia provides a “great capacity” that could serve the interests of the two countries, the region, and the Muslim world, Amir-Abdollahian added.  

Speaking on Monday in his weekly press conference, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said that “good progress” has been made in the reopening of diplomatic missions.

“Based on the agreement and the practical determination, we have had good progress in the process of making diplomatic missions ready,” he said, adding that “more time” is needed because the buildings have not been used for years.

“We are in the final stages of preparing the missions,” said the diplomat, hoping that they would be officially reopened in the “shortest time” possible.

“Political relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia are practically in place,” Kan’ani noted, adding that Tehran is “optimistic” about the continuation of this reconciliation based on both sides’ determination and goodwill. 

Technical delegations from Tehran and Riyadh have already visited the diplomatic missions in the past weeks to make the necessary arrangement and preparations for reopening.

SS