Iran, Saudi Arabia Agree to Restore Diplomatic Relations

Facts

• Iran and Saudi Arabia announced on Friday a Chinese-brokered agreement to re-establish diplomatic relations after years of open hostility and proxy conflicts across the Middle East.¹
• Iranian and Saudi state media reported that both countries agreed to reopen their embassies within two months, reimplement a security cooperation agreement signed in 2001, and not interfere in each other's internal affairs.²
• According to Iranian state media, reconciliation talks had been held in Beijing since March 6 as the PRC has been seeking to expand its diplomatic foothold in the Middle East, with its leader Xi Jinping visiting Riyadh last December to attend summits with more than a dozen Arab leaders.³
• This deal shakes up the geopolitics of the Middle East, indicating Beijing's growing influence in the region and potentially affecting the US-Israel efforts to form a regional coalition against Iran.⁴
• Riyadh and Tehran ended ties in 2016 after the Saudi embassy was stormed, with relations further deteriorating amid claims that the latter had carried out a drone attack on a Saudi oil facility in 2019 and that the first had funded media allegedly inciting mass protests in Iran in 2022.⁵
• US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters during a press call that the Saudis had kept Washington informed of the de-escalation deal and seemingly downplayed China's role by stating that this roadmap is the result of multiple rounds of talks.⁶

Sources: ¹New York Times, ²Al Jazeera, ³CNN, ⁴Wall Street Journal, ⁵Ft and ⁶CNBC.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by FOX News. This Chinese-brokered deal between US ally Saudi Arabia and US rival Iran reveals how disastrous the Biden admin. has been to US interests in the Middle East. By not showing a clear commitment to the interests of its regional allies, the White House has pushed them into the arms of China and Russia, its main geopolitical enemies.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by The jerusalem strategic tribune. While the US and China are indeed competing for global leadership, Beijing's growing influence in the Middle East doesn't represent a threat to US interests – except in some specific areas in which it's moving to avert Chinese activism. China-brokered reconciliation talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia have de-escalated tensions, which is also good for the US.