A day after the Saudi Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and his Iranian counterpart, Hussein Amir Abdollahian, confirmed progress in the implementation of the Beijing agreement, Iranian media said that the revival of bilateral ties between Riyadh and Tehran falls in the interest of all sides.
The two ministers met on Thursday in the Chinese capital within the framework of the diplomatic agreement brokered by China last month, in order to pave the way for the resumption of relations and the reopening of the two embassies.
In a joint statement, Saudi Arabia and Iran stressed the importance of following up on the implementation of the agreement, in a way that enhances mutual trust, expands the scope of cooperation, and contributes to achieving security, stability and prosperity in the region.
The IRNA news agency stated that the agreement was in all sides’ interests, saying the return of relations between the two countries to their “normal track” could be the beginning of a new chapter in diplomatic relations.
In addition to the advantages that would benefit the region, IRNA considered that Iran’s agreement with any country, whether it is Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Russia or China, is a “confirmation of the failure of the project to isolate Tehran,” emphasizing that it would “pave the way for breaking economic isolation.”
Relations with neighbors can abort part of the sanction threats to the Iranian economy, according to IRNA.
For its part, Iran’s state-agency ISNA quoted a geopolitical affairs analyst as saying that China’s engagement in the relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran generated more optimism about the future and viability of the agreement.
The former Iranian diplomat, Abdolreza Faraji Rad, told the agency that China relied on Saudi Arabia for the future, and for the geostrategic competition with America.
The diplomat, who was his country’s ambassador to Norway, also expected that the Saudi-Iranian agreement would reflect positively on improving Iranian relations with the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, and to some extent with Egypt and Mauritania.
Iran’s semi-official ILNA news agency referred in its analysis to “three structural, regional and internal variables” that contributed to the agreement between Riyadh and Tehran.
Regarding the structural variable, the agency referred to a “new world order” based on the transfer of power from the West to the East. It added that regional players were looking for new roles under the influence of the new world order, specifically the rise of China.
