Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (right) and Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan at a meeting in Tehran on June 17, 2023. Photo: VNA

According to the IRNA news agency, during a meeting with the Saudi Foreign Minister, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi welcomed the resumption of relations between the two "important and influential" countries in the Muslim world, and stressed that countries in the region should resolve their differences through dialogue and "without outside interference". For his part, Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan expressed satisfaction with the restoration of bilateral relations, stressing that the two countries are currently in a "golden phase". Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan announced that the Saudi King had directed the establishment of working groups to develop relations with Iran; stating that Riyadh is making efforts to bring relations with Tehran to a strategic level. In March, the two countries agreed to resume diplomatic relations after a seven-year hiatus since protesters from the Islamic Republic burned down the Saudi Embassy in Iran in 2016 to protest the execution of a Shiite Muslim cleric by Riyadh.

NHAT MINH