Saudi king welcomes visiting Iranian president – Xinhua English.news.cn

Xinhua News Agency – An official of the Iranian President’s Office said on the 19th that Saudi King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz has sent a visit invitation to Iranian President Ibrahim Rahim, and Rahim welcomed the invitation. .

Mohammad Jamshidi, deputy director of the Iranian presidential office for political affairs, said in a post on social media that in the letter to Rahid, Salman welcomed Saudi Arabia and Iran, the “two fraternal countries,” who agreed to restore diplomatic relations. Rahid was invited to visit the Saudi capital Riyadh.

Jamshidi said Rahid “welcomed the invitation”. He did not mention the timetable for Rahim’s visit to Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia and Iran severed diplomatic relations in 2016. With the support of China, representatives of the two countries held a dialogue in Beijing from the 6th to the 10th of this month. On the 10th, the two countries reached the Beijing Agreement. China, Saudi Arabia and Iran signed and issued a joint statement, announcing that Saudi Arabia and Iran agreed to resume diplomatic relations, emphasizing that the three parties will work together to maintain the basic norms of international relations and promote international and regional peace and security.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdullahyan said at a press conference on the 19th that Iran is ready to reopen embassies with Saudi Arabia. The two countries agreed to hold foreign minister-level talks, and Iran has proposed three alternative meeting locations to Saudi Arabia. He gave no details about the exact location or when the talks might take place.

Amir Abdullahyan said Iran also wanted steps to normalize relations with Saudi Arabia’s neighbor Bahrain.

According to Reuters, several Gulf countries, including Bahrain, welcomed the agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore diplomatic relations.