Iran and Saudi Arabia have agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after years of tensions between the two countries.
The agreement was a result of meeting in Beijing that began Monday as part of an initiative by Chinese President Xi Jinping aimed at “developing good neighborly relations” between Iran and Saudi Arabia.
It was struck in Beijing on Friday, amid its ceremonial National People’s Congress, represents a major diplomatic victory for the Chinese as Gulf states perceive the United States slowly withdrawing from the wider Middle East.
It also comes as diplomats have been trying to end a years long war in Yemen, a conflict in which both Iran and Saudi Arabia are deeply entrenched.
The two countries released a joint communique with China on the deal, which apparently brokered the agreement.
Tensions have been high between Iran and Saudi Arabia. The kingdom broke off ties with Iran in 2016 after protesters invaded Saudi diplomatic posts there. Saudi Arabia days earlier had executed a prominent Shiite cleric, triggering the demonstrations.
In the years since, tensions have risen dramatically across the Middle East since the US unilaterally withdrew from Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018.
Iran has been blamed for a series of attacks in the time since, including one that targeted the heart of Saudi Arabia’s oil industry in 2019, temporarily halving the kingdom’s crude production.
