Iran, Saudi Arabia Set to Reopen Embassies

Facts

• The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced Sunday that ministry officials will travel to Saudi Arabia this week to prepare for the reopening of the Iranian diplomatic missions in the Persian Gulf kingdom.¹
• According to Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Alireza Enayati, two separate delegations will visit Saudi Arabia to arrange the reopening of Iran’s embassy in Riyadh and its consulate in Jeddah.²
• This came after a Saudi delegation on Saturday arrived in Iran on a similar diplomatic trip as part of a political rapprochement between the majority-Shiite Islamic Republic and the mainly Sunni Muslim kingdom.³
• According to Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the reopening of Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran is aimed at 'implementing the tripartite agreement' brokered by China between the longtime geopolitical rivals.⁴
• Last week, the Saudi foreign minister and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, met in China for the first high-level consultations since relations were severed in 2016, pledging to bring 'security, stability and prosperity' to the region.⁵
• The Iran-Saudi agreement brokered by China in March calls for the two regional powers to both reopen their diplomatic missions within two months and enforce security and economic cooperation deals inked over 20 years ago.⁶

Sources: ¹Al arabiya english, ²The times of israel, ³Dw.com, ⁴Guardian, ⁵BBC News and ⁶France 24.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Foreign policy. The Saudi-Iranian diplomatic overtures are not necessarily bad news for Washington, as greater regional security also serves US interests. Yet Washington should also seize the opportunity to focus on promoting political pluralism and human rights in the region to achieve lasting peace. Moreover, to effectively contain the authoritarian PRC regime's growing regional influence, Washington must defend its interests and liberal values there with like-minded allies.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Global times. That Saudi Arabia and Iran are about to reopen their embassies signifies that China's efforts to bring peace to the region are bearing fruit. That the US pretends to welcome any development that benefits peace shows Washington has instigated regional conflicts to profit from chaos. The recent developments in the Middle East are the latest expression of the fact that Global South countries are finally fed up with Washington's hypocrisy and the export of its so-called 'values.'

Predictions