Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Saudi Arabia, like Iraq, occupies a special place in Iran’s neighborhood policy.

According to The Iran Project, “Iranian-Saudi relations have been on a very positive trajectory and progressing well for several years,” he told Saudi Arabia’s Asharq News television on Thursday.

Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed relations following a seven-year hiatus under a China-brokered deal in 2023, which saw the two sides re-open diplomatic missions.

“We had issues in the past, but thanks to the assistance of Iraq and later China, we resumed bilateral relations. In recent years, these relations have been expanding rapidly,” Araghchi added.