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Middle East
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Saudi Arabia urges improved maritime security in Gulf as ties with Iran resume

  • Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan made a landmark visit to the Islamic republic on Saturday following a seven-year rupture
  • He held talks with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian focusing on regional security, and was also to meet President Ebrahim Raisi

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Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, right, meets Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Tehran, Iran on Saturday. Photo: WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
Agence France-Presse
Iran and Saudi Arabia took a further step on Saturday to seal their reconciliation as Riyadh’s top diplomat made a landmark visit to the Islamic republic following a seven-year rupture.
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Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan held talks with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian focusing on regional security, and was also to meet President Ebrahim Raisi.

Sunni Muslim power Saudi Arabia severed relations with Shiite-led Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran and consulate in the northwestern city of Mashhad were attacked during protests over Riyadh’s execution of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, front left, meets his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, front right, in Iran on Saturday. Photo: Rouzbeh Fouladi / Zuma Press Wire / dpa
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, front left, meets his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, front right, in Iran on Saturday. Photo: Rouzbeh Fouladi / Zuma Press Wire / dpa
But the two countries agreed in March to mend ties and reopen their respective embassies, in a Chinese-brokered deal that has shifted regional relations.

On June 6, Iran reopened its embassy and consulate in Saudi Arabia and the kingdom is expected to reopen its diplomatic mission in Tehran “soon”, Prince Faisal said.

“I would like to point out the importance of cooperation between our two countries concerning the regional security, especially the security of maritime navigation and waterways,” Prince Faisal said at a joint news conference with Amir-Abdollahian.

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The Iranian foreign minister told reporters they had discussing ways of bolstering cooperation in the fields of security, economy, tourism and transport.

But Amir-Abdollahian stressed Iran’s view that “regional security will be ensured by regional actors only” without external interference.

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