Tehran, IRNA – Referring to the reopening of Iranian diplomatic posts in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said that the Saudi embassy in Tehran will reopen soon as well.

The Saudi foreign minister made the remarks at a joint press conference with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian after a meeting in Tehran on Saturday.

The Iranian foreign minister said that he was pleased to host his counterpart in Tehran nearly 100 days after a meeting in Beijing.

Amirabdollahian appreciated the Saudi side for facilitating the reopening of Iranian embassy in Riyadh and the country’s Permanent Mission to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Jeddah.

The Iranian top diplomat also said that the two countries share views on forming committees for political, border and economic cooperation, as well as fight against drug smuggling.  

The Saudi foreign minister said that he has had positive and clear talks with Amirabdollahian in a meeting which he said was held to complete the agreements made in the Chinese capital.

He noted that Iran and Saudi Arabia are two key players of the region, stressing the normalization of relations between the two countries as a significant development.

The Saudi foreign minister added that bilateral relations between Tehran and Riyadh are based on principles, including mutual respect, non-intervention in domestic affairs of each other and compliance with the UN Charter.  

Bin Farhan said that in his Tehran trip, he will also have a meeting with President Raisi where he will convey the greetings of the Saudi King and Prince Bin Salman to the Iranian president.

He said he wishes an invitation to Saudi Arabia will be responded soon by President Raisi.

The meeting in Tehran was the third meeting between the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia after Tehran and Riyadh resumed diplomatic relations in China-brokered talks between top security officials of the two countries in Beijing in March.

The two earlier meetings of the two foreign ministers took place in third countries while today’s meeting in Tehran is the first meeting of the top diplomats of Iran and Saudi Arabia in one of their capitals after seven years of no formal ties.

Iran and Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations in 2016 after angry protesters rushed into Saudi diplomatic missions in Tehran and Mashhad following Riyadh’s assassination of a prominent Shia cleric Nimr Baqir al-Nimr.

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