Iran to reopen its diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia after a 7-year rift
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00:00 Iran is set to reopen its embassy in Saudi Arabia after a seven-year hiatus.
00:05 To tell us a bit more, correspondent Reza Sayah joins us now from Tehran.
00:10 And Reza, first of all, what do you think the significance is of Iran reopening this
00:14 embassy in Saudi Arabia?
00:17 Yeah, this is another step in Iran and Saudi Arabia, the process of being friends again.
00:24 The last time Iran had a functioning embassy in Riyadh was back in 2016, roughly seven
00:30 years later.
00:31 They are reopening the doors to their embassy in Riyadh, reopening their consulate general
00:36 in Jeddah, and also reopening their permanent mission to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
00:43 in Jeddah.
00:44 According to Iran's foreign ministry, the opening of these three posts will happen today
00:48 and tomorrow.
00:50 The reopening of Iran's embassy in Riyadh comes after an agreement was signed back in
00:55 March in China between the governments of Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore ties.
01:01 That has been big news here in Iran and the region.
01:04 Iranian state media, Iranian leaders depicting the restoration of ties between Riyadh and
01:09 Tehran as a major step in restabilizing and bringing peace to a region where both Saudi
01:16 Arabia and Iran play key roles in energy, security, and the economy.
01:20 Of course, Riyadh and Tehran have not always had good relations.
01:25 It has been up and down.
01:26 There was a low point in 2016 when Saudi Arabia executed a Shia cleric.
01:32 There were protests in Tehran.
01:34 The Saudi embassy was stormed.
01:36 The two sides cut off diplomatic relations.
01:39 And now again today, Iran reopening its embassy in Riyadh.
01:44 The two countries also talking about bolstering security cooperation.
01:49 A naval commander this week claiming that there's going to be a naval alliance between
01:54 Iran, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf states, although there's been very few details, no
01:58 confirmation from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.
02:03 And Reza, what impact might this rapprochement have, not just on Iran and Saudi Arabia themselves,
02:09 but perhaps on the wider region?
02:13 When neighbors get along, obviously there's a potential for peace and stability.
02:18 Certainly on paper, this development looks like a big diplomatic and political win for
02:23 Iran, a country that's been isolated for a very long time.
02:27 And we're already seeing some ripple effects.
02:30 Iran already restoring ties with other regional countries, UAE, Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain.
02:37 Saudi Arabia restoring ties with Syria.
02:40 Both these countries have influence in places like Yemen and Lebanon, so the potential of
02:46 peace and stability in those countries.
02:48 This seemingly undermines Israel's efforts to isolate Iran.
02:53 And it brings to question America's role in the region.
02:57 Washington has always viewed itself as the mediator, as the regional police.
03:02 With the restoration of ties between countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia and talk of security
03:06 alliances, it brings to question what Washington's role is going to be moving forward in what
03:13 seems increasingly to be a multipolar world.
03:17 Reza Sayah in Tehran.
03:19 Thank you very much.