Iranian Delegation Arrives in Saudi Arabia to Prepare for Embassy Reopening

This handout picture released by the Saudi Press Agency shows Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (R) during a meeting in Beijing on April 6, 2023. (SPA)
This handout picture released by the Saudi Press Agency shows Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (R) during a meeting in Beijing on April 6, 2023. (SPA)
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Iranian Delegation Arrives in Saudi Arabia to Prepare for Embassy Reopening

This handout picture released by the Saudi Press Agency shows Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (R) during a meeting in Beijing on April 6, 2023. (SPA)
This handout picture released by the Saudi Press Agency shows Saudi Foreign Affairs Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (R) during a meeting in Beijing on April 6, 2023. (SPA)

An Iranian technical delegation arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to prepare for the reopening of Tehran's embassy there, Iran's Foreign Ministry said, under a deal to re-establish ties.

Both countries' foreign ministers met in Beijing earlier this month for the first formal gathering of their top diplomats in more than seven years, after China brokered the agreement to restore relations.

"The Iranian delegation will take the necessary measures in Riyadh and Jeddah to set up the embassy and consulate general," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, said in a statement.

Earlier this week, a Saudi technical delegation, headed by Nasser bin Awad Al Ghannoum, had visited Tehran to inspect the Kingdom’s embassy.



Syria’s Leader Meets with Bahraini Diplomatic Delegation

The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
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Syria’s Leader Meets with Bahraini Diplomatic Delegation

The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)
The leader of Syria's new administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa meets Bahraini Foreign Minister Abdul Latif Al-Zayani in Damascus, Syria, January 8, 2025. (Bahrain News Agency/Handout via Reuters)

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa received a delegation from Bahrain on Wednesday and met with the Bahraini foreign minister, state media reported.

The visit was the latest in a flurry of diplomatic overtures by Arab countries to Syria’s new leaders after they overthrew former President Bashar al-Assad in a lightning rebel offensive.

Like other Gulf countries, Bahrain had cut off diplomatic ties with Syria under Assad’s rule during the Syrian civil war, but it reopened its embassy in Damascus in 2018 and gradually restored ties with the Assad government.

Bahrain is the current head of the Arab summit, and days after Assad’s ouster it had sent a message to al-Sharaa offering its cooperation with the new authorities and saying, “We look forward to Syria regaining its authentic role in the Arab League.”