• The invitation is claimed to have arrived in the form of a letter from King Salman.
• Mr. Raisi had welcomed it and “stressed Iran’s readiness to expand cooperation”.
• Hossein Amir-Abdollahian informed reporters that the two countries had agreed to conduct a meeting.

Iran claims Saudi Arabia has invited Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi for an official visit, barely over a week after the two countries agreed to re-establish diplomatic ties.

The invitation is claimed to have arrived in the form of a letter from King Salman, although it has yet to be confirmed by the Saudis.

The recent history of the Middle East has been dominated by antagonism between the two states.

China mediated the thaw, which has the potential to change the region’s geopolitics.

A senior Iranian official, Mohammad Jamshidi, tweeted about the offer to visit the Saudi capital, Riyadh, adding Mr. Raisi had welcomed it and “stressed Iran’s readiness to expand cooperation”.

Steps towards stability

Separately, Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian informed reporters that the two countries had agreed to conduct a meeting at the level of foreign ministers, with three possible locations mentioned.

He did not specify the places or the date of the encounter.

Sebastian Usher, the recent improvement in bilateral relations, which occurred abruptly after days of discussions mediated by China, appears to be gaining serious traction.

Both have stated that their embassies would reopen within two months and that commercial and security relation will be restored.

Several others, including the United States and the United Nations, greeted this trend with caution after earlier attempts at reconciliation had failed.

Saudi Arabia severed ties with Iran in January 2016 after protesters stormed its embassy in Tehran.

That came after Riyadh murdered prominent Shia Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who had been convicted of terrorism-related crimes.

Since then, tensions have been high between the Sunni- and Shia-led neighbors, with each seeing the other as a menacing entity seeking regional control.

They have been on opposing sides in various regional crises, notably Syria and Yemen’s civil wars.

Mr. Amir-Abdollahian also expressed confidence that steps would be taken to repair relations with Bahrain, a strong Saudi ally that, like Riyadh, severed diplomatic ties with Tehran in 2016.

“We hope that some obstacles will be removed between Iran and Bahrain, and we will take basic steps to reopen the embassies,” he said.

Bahrain has not replied to the remarks but has previously supported the Iran-Saudi deal to restore diplomatic relations.

Iran has also stated a willingness to reestablish or enhance relations with other regional Arab adversaries, such as Jordan and the UAE.

Also Read

Saudi investment in Iran could happen ‘very quickly’ after agreement, says minister

Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed on Friday to re-establish relations. Tehran and...