Iranian Media Say Saudi Foreign Minister To Visit Saturday

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, will visit Tehran on Saturday, Iran's Tasnim news website affiliated with the IRGC said on Thursday.

He is set to meet with Iranian officials, Tasnim said, but not immediately clear if he will also meet Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Such a meeting could signal how far the Iranian regime values the restored ties.

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed in March, in a deal brokered by China, to end a diplomatic rift and re-establish relations following years of hostility that had endangered regional stability including in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.

This ended Islamic Republic’s regional isolation after years of opposition by oil-producing Persian Gulf Arab states alarmed by Iran’s expanding regional military influence and its nuclear program.

The agreement in Beijing to restore ties with Chinese mediation was seen as set back to Washington’s influence with Saudi Arabia that in May also improved ties with Syria’s Bashar al-Assad.

However the Biden administration has welcomed the reduction of tensions and began its own overtures with Tehran to reach agreements on certain issues, such as freeing US hostages held in Tehran.

Iran officially reopened its embassy in Saudi Arabia on June 7.