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Saudi and Iranian Foreign Ministers Meet in China After Thaw
Saudi and Iranian Foreign Ministers Meet in China After Thaw
(32 minutes later)
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran held talks in Beijing on Thursday, in the highest-level meeting between the regional rivals since they cut ties seven years ago and a sign that China would continue to host talks that could shift the geopolitics of the Middle East.
The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran held talks in Beijing on Thursday, in the highest-level meeting between the regional rivals since they cut ties seven years ago and a sign that China would continue to host talks that could shift the geopolitics of the Middle East.
In a joint statement, the two governments said that given their natural resources and economic potential, they saw “great opportunities to achieve shared benefits for their two peoples.” They said the ministers discussed issues including the resumption of flights and the reopening of diplomatic missions.
In a joint statement, the two governments said that given their natural resources and economic potential, they saw “great opportunities to achieve shared benefits for their two peoples.” They said the ministers discussed issues including the resumption of flights and the reopening of diplomatic missions.
The meeting came after a surprise rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, mediated by China, was announced last month. The statement signaled that the agreement was moving forward as Saudi Arabia, a longtime American ally, forges more independent foreign and economic policies.
The meeting came after a surprise rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Iran, mediated by China, was announced last month. The statement signaled that the agreement was moving forward as Saudi Arabia, a longtime American ally, forges more independent foreign and economic policies.
The kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been keen to expand alliances with other partners, especially as relations have become strained with the Biden administration on issues including human rights. An increasingly assertive Beijing, which presented itself as a counterweight to the United States in global diplomacy, has expanded its role in the Middle East by facilitating the agreement and hosting the talks this week.
The kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has been keen to expand alliances with other partners, especially as relations have become strained with the Biden administration on issues including human rights. An increasingly assertive Beijing, which presented itself as a counterweight to the United States in global diplomacy, has expanded its role in the Middle East by facilitating the agreement and hosting the talks this week.
Prince Mohammed has also resisted American calls on oil policy. On Sunday, the kingdom and other members of OPEC Plus, which includes Russia, announced a surprise decision to cut oil production by more than a million barrels per day, counter to hopes from the White House that they would maintain production at similar levels.
“Washington has been struggling to adapt to the new Saudi Arabia,” said Ayham Kamel, head of Middle East and North Africa at Eurasia Group. “This creates a whole new set of challenges as U.S. allies have begun to create their distinct Iran policy that might not align with Washington’s own approach.”
On Thursday, the Saudi foreign minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, and his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, said they would move forward with steps to reopen their embassies in Tehran and Riyadh, which have been closed since 2016, according to the statement. They also agreed that technical teams from both countries would discuss further steps, including the resumption of flights, visits by official delegations and the granting of visas to each other’s citizens.
The rivalry between the two Islamic nations, which are less than 150 miles away from each other across the Persian Gulf, has long shaped politics and trade in the Middle East.
It has a sectarian dimension — Saudi Arabia’s monarchy and a majority of its populace are Sunni Muslim, while Iran’s people are overwhelmingly Shiite Muslim — and has predominantly played out via proxy conflicts in Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon.
Hostilities hit a peak in 2019, when a missile and drone assault on a crucial Saudi oil installation briefly disrupted half of the kingdom’s crude production; Iran-backed fighters in Yemen claimed responsibility and Iran denied involvement, but U.S. officials said that Iran had directly overseen the attack.
In recent years, Saudi and Iranian officials have engaged in a series of talks aimed at easing tensions, although they appeared to make little progress until China stepped in to mediate.
Both Tehran and Riyadh are facing major challenges that give them incentives to resolve their external conflicts. Iran has spent months grappling with major unrest and an economy battered by years of sanctions, while Saudi Arabia’s leadership is overseeing a daunting plan to diversify the economy away from oil called “Vision 2030.”
As a result, the kingdom has been searching for a different approach toward Iran, “to minimize security threats that would inevitably threaten Saudi Vision 2030,” said Anna Jacobs, a senior Gulf analyst at the International Crisis Group. Instead of trying to isolate Iran, Saudi Arabia is now ”looking to counter, contain and engage Iran,” she said.
Gulf Arab states including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates also seem less concerned about potential friction with American and European sanctions against the Islamic Republic than they might have been in the past.
“Many experts still assume that whoever is in the White House will guide Saudi policy on Iran,” Ms. Jacobs said, “but that simply isn’t true today.”
“Saudi Arabia and Gulf Arab states are focusing on their economic, political and security interests and protecting themselves from regional threats,” including the potential for escalating tensions between Iran and Israel, she added.
Asked during a finance conference in Riyadh last month whether Saudi Arabia would begin investing in Iran, the Saudi finance minister, Mohammed al-Jadaan, said it could happen quickly if the agreement held.
“Our aim, and I think this has been made very clear previously by our leadership, is to have a region that is stable, that is able to provide for its people and prosper,” Mr. al-Jadaan said. “Iran is our neighbor, and has been, and will continue to be for hundreds of years.”
It was unclear how soon concrete steps would be taken to reopen embassies or resume flights and issuing visas, allowing Iranians and Saudis to travel between the two countries for religious pilgrimages, tourism and business.
At least two Iranian cities, Tehran and Mashhad, already appear as possible destinations on the website of Saudia, Saudi Arabia’s state airline, but no flights are scheduled.
The agreement to re-establish relations could still be jeopardized or slowed by a number of thorny issues, analysts say.
“This deal is a major step forward, but the hardest work is yet to come,” Ms. Jacobs said.
