Saudi Foreign Minister Holds Talks In Iran After Thaw In Relations

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Tehran as Iran and the kingdom continue to develop their newly re-established relations.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian welcomed the Saudi delegation on their arrival and then held talks with his Arab counterpart.

The two were going to have joint press conference when bin Farhan refused to speak under Qassem Soleimani’s picture.

Soleimani, commander of the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) extra-territorial Quds Force, was killed in Baghdad along with nine others in 2020 by a drone strike ordered by former US President Donald Trump.

The Qods Force under Soleimani became deeply involved in the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, setting up militant proxy militias.

After the press conference was relocated, bin Farhan said his country's relations with Iran are based on the principles of non-interference in each other's internal affairs. He added that Tehran-Riyadh cooperation is important in ensuring the safety of navigation in the region and on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

In turn, Amir-Abdollahian claimed that according to the Islamic Republic security is not the same as militarism.

According to reports, the Saudi minister may also meet with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who just returned from a Latin American tour.

A deal brokered by China in March ended a diplomatic rift between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and re-established relations following years of hostility that threatened regional stability in Yemen, Syria, and Lebanon.

On June 7, Iran reopened its embassy in Saudi Arabia.

In 2016, protesters attacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran in retaliation for Riyadh's execution of a prominent Shiite cleric, which led to Riyadh severing its ties with Tehran.