ISLAMABAD: As a result of talks between top security officials of Iran and Saudi Arabia in Beijing, the two countries agreed on Friday to re-establish relations after years of hostility.
The deal was announced after four days of previously undisclosed talks in Beijing between top security officials from the two rival Middle Eastern powers.
Tehran and Riyadh agreed to resume diplomatic relations and re-open embassies within two months, according to a statement issued by Iran, Saudi Arabia and China. “The agreement includes their affirmation of the respect for the sovereignty of states and the non-interference in internal affairs,” it said.
Pakistan warmly welcomed the normalisation of diplomatic relations between the two Islamic countries, which will have far-reaching impact on the geo-strategic relations of the regional countries and help address the thorny disputes of the region.
The formal official reaction was issued by the Foreign Office, followed by Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari in New York, where he spoke high of the three countries which were part of the deal.
The FO said Pakistan firmly believed that the important diplomatic breakthrough would contribute to peace and stability in the region and beyond. “We commend the role played by China’s visionary leadership in coordinating this historic agreement which reflects the power of constructive engagement and meaningful dialogue.
“We laud sagacious leadership of Saudi Arabia and Iran for this very positive development,” said the statement.
“With a history of consistently supporting and coordinating efforts for bridging gaps between the two brotherly countries, Pakistan will continue to play a constructive role in the Middle East and the region. We hope this positive step would define a template for regional cooperation and harmony,” the Foreign Office said.
Riyadh snapped ties with Tehran after Iranian protesters attacked Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran in 2016, following the Saudi execution of revered Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
Iran and Saudi Arabia support rival sides in several conflict zones across the Middle East, including in Yemen where the Houthi rebels are backed by Tehran, and Riyadh leads a military coalition supporting the government.
Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, had travelled to Beijing on Monday for “intensive negotiations with his Saudi counterpart” in China in order to finally resolve the problems between Tehran and Riyadh. Iraq, a neighbour to both countries, had hosted several rounds of talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia since April 2021.
“Removing misunderstandings and the future-oriented views in relations between Tehran and Riyadh will definitely lead to improving regional stability and security as well as increasing cooperation among Persian Gulf nations and the world of Islam for managing current challenges,” Shamkhani was quoted as saying.
“After implementing the decision, the foreign ministers of both nations will meet to prepare for an exchange of ambassadors,” Iranian state television said. In the footage aired by Iranian media, Wang offered “whole-hearted congratulations” on the two countries’ wisdom. “Both sides have displayed sincerity,” he said. “China fully supports this agreement.”
The statement also said Riyadh and Tehran had agreed to activate a security cooperation agreement signed in 2001. In Friday’s statement, Iran and Saudi Arabia said they “thank Iraq and Oman for hosting the talks held between the two sides in 2021 and 2022 as well as the leaders and government of the People’s Republic of China for hosting and supporting the talks held in that country.
“The three countries expressed their keenness to exert all efforts towards enhancing regional and international peace and security,” they said. Other Gulf states had also scaled back their ties with Iran after the 2016 incident. But in September, Tehran welcomed a UAE ambassador back after a six-year absence. A month earlier, Iran said Kuwait had sent its first ambassador to Iran since 2016.
A White House National Security Council spokesperson said the US is aware of reports that Iran and Saudi Arabia have resumed diplomatic relations, but referred further details to the Saudis. “Generally speaking, we welcome any efforts to help end the war in Yemen and de-escalate tensions in the Middle East region,” the spokesperson told a news agency. “De-escalation and diplomacy together with deterrence are key pillars of the policy President [Joe] Biden outlined during his visit to the region last year.”
The United Nations have welcomed the Saudi-Iranian rapprochement and thanked China for its role. “Good neighbourly relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia are essential for the stability of the Gulf region,” UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters at UN headquarters.
Israel’s former prime minister Naftali Bennett called the renewal of Iran-Saudi ties a “serious and dangerous development for Israel” and a “political victory for Iran”.
“This delivers a fatal blow to efforts to build a regional coalition against Iran,” said Bennett. He used the moment to attack Netanyahu charging the Iran-Saudi ties reflected the “resounding failure of the Netanyahu government and stems from a combination of political neglect with the country’s general weakness and internal conflict.” Netanyahu’s government offered no immediate comment Friday to the news.
Iranian expert Danny (Dennis) Citrinowicz from the Institute of National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University tweeted that the new alliance was a message to Israel that its dream of a regional alliance was not feasible and never had been.
Analyst and former MK Ksenia Svetlova of the Mitvim, the Israeli Regional Institute for Foreign Policy, noted on Twitter that “Saudi Arabia is normalising relations. No, not with Israel but rather with Iran”, while it has rebuked Israel publicly for its treatment of the Palestinians. “Only two months ago, Netanyahu promised to bring peace with Saudi Arabia. We seem to be moving in the opposite direction,” she wrote.
Adnan Tabatabai – CEO of the Centre for Applied Research in Partnership with the Orient, a Germany-based think tank – told Al Jazeera that China has a big interest in not seeing the regional security situation “descend into chaos”, such as “in 2019, when the waterways of Hormuz were the sites of different explosions and attacks”.
“There are inherent interests for the Chinese to try and use the leverage that they have towards both Tehran and Riyadh to make some efforts to balance these relations and finalise what the Iraqis and Omanis had in fact started,” Tabatabai said.
The leader of the Iranian-backed Lebanese militia and political group Hezbollah, Hassan Nasrallah, praised the agreement as “an important development” that could “open new horizons” in Lebanon, Syria and Yemen. Iraq, Oman and the United Arab Emirates also praised the accord.
Yemeni rebel spokesman Mohamed Abdulsalam appeared to welcome the deal in a statement that also slammed the US and Israel. “The region needs the return of normal relations between its countries, through which the Islamic society can regain its lost security as a result of the foreign interventions, led by the Zionists and Americans,” he wrote online.
