The Iran and Saudi Arabia announced the restoration of diplomatic relations following talks in China, according to a joint statement released today by the state media of the two Middle Eastern countries, whose relations had been severed since 2016.

“After talks, the Islamic Republic of Iran and its Kingdom of Saudi Arabia have agreed to resume diplomatic relations and reopen embassies and (diplomatic) missions within two months at the latest,” Iran’s IRNA news agency quoted the statement, which was also carried by Saudi Arabia’s official SPA news agency.

Iranian and Saudi media reported that the two countries “underscored in their statement respect for sovereignty, as well as non-interference in each other’s internal affairs.”

THE Sunni Saudi Arabia and the Shiite Iran severed relations seven years ago, following the attack on Saudi diplomatic missions by protesters in the Islamic Republic, following Riyadh’s execution of a prominent Shiite cleric, Nimr al-Nimr.

According to IRNA, Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, went to Beijing on Monday “for intensive negotiations in China with his Saudi counterpart with the aim of finally resolving the differences between Tehran and Riyadh.”

Since April 2021, Iraq has hosted a series of meetings between security officials of the two rival powers aimed at rapprochement between the two countries.

In their joint statement, Iran and Saudi Arabia “thank the Republic of Iraq and the Sultanate of Oman for hosting talks between the two parties in 2021 and 2022, and the leaders and government of the People’s Republic of China for welcoming and supported the talks that took place in this country.”

Tehran and Riyadh support opposing sides in conflicts in the region, mainly in Yemen.

Iran has major influence in Iraq and Lebanon and militarily and politically supports the regime in Syria.