Iran, Saudi Arabia on the edge of rapprochement
Iran and Saudi Arabia are inching towards a rapprochement that, if achieved, would profoundly shift the region’s dynamics, diplomacy and stability. Officials from both sides have recently hailed backchannel talks held first in Iraq and now in Oman as “constructive.”
In May, Iraqi President Barham Salih confirmed his country had been hosting quiet talks between the two often bitter rivals. The talks, which started in April, have recently been attended by high-profile delegates, including Saudi chief of General Intelligence Directorate Khalid al-Humaidan and Iranian Deputy Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Saeed Iravani.
The first symbolic breakthrough could be seen as early as next week. Iranian media have reported that Saudi Arabia has signaled it could send an envoy to attend President-elect Ebrahim Raisi’s inauguration scheduled for August 5. If so, the diplomatic overture would mark a significant departure since the two sides broke off diplomatic relations in 2016.
Raisi, in his first press conference as president-elect on June 21, said there were no barriers to the reopening of Iranian and Saudi Arabian embassies, and Iran was prepared to embrace normalized ties with its predominantly Sunni neighbor. Burying the past, of course, won’t be easy.
https://asiatimes.com/2021/07/iran-saudi-arabia-on-the-edge-of-rapprochement/
