According to the statement, Iran and Saudi Arabia highlighted the need to respect each others’ national sovereignty and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of one another. They agreed to implement a security cooperation agreement signed in April 2001 and another accord reached in May 1998 to boost economic, commercial, investment, technical, scientific, cultural, sports and youth affairs cooperation.
Iran, Saudi Arabia and China expressed their firm determination to make their utmost efforts to promote regional and international peace and security, it emphasized.
The statement further explained that delegations from Iran and Saudi Arabia, led by Shamkhani and Aiban, held several meetings over the past five days following Chinese President Xi Jinping’s support for the expansion of ties between Tehran and Riyadh based on the principle of good neighborliness and his efforts to host meetings between Iranian and Saudi senior officials.
The talks between Shamkhani and Aiban were also held as a result of the keenness of Tehran and Riyadh to resolve differences through dialogue and diplomacy based on fraternal ties and both sides’ adherence to the principles of the United Nations Charter and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Charter and international rules and principles, it added.
Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic relations with Iran in January 2016 after Iranian protesters, enraged by the execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr by the Saudi government, stormed its embassy in Tehran.
The two sides had held five rounds of negotiations in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad since April 2021.
In their joint statement, Iran and Saudi Arabia also thanked Iraq and Oman for hosting the talks 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.
In phone call, Shamkhani thanks Iraq for hosting talks
Prior to the official announcement about the restoration of ties between Iran and Saudi Arabia, Shamkhani held a phone conversation with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
The Iranian top security official hailed great efforts by Iraq to host five rounds of talks between Tehran and Riyadh.
He also commended Baghdad’s “very valuable” bids to prepare the ground for the new agreement between Tehran and Riyadh.
Speaking after signing the agreement, Shamkhani said the negotiations between the two countries were “frank, transparent, comprehensive.”
“Clearing up the misunderstandings and looking to the future in Tehran-Riyadh relations will definitely lead to the development of regional stability and security and the increase of cooperation between the countries of the Persian Gulf and the Islamic world to manage the existing challenges,” he said.
