RIYADH: Iran’s embassy in Saudi Arabia reopened its gates on Wednesday for the first time in seven years, a witness said, under a deal to re-establish ties that could ease a long-standing rivalry that has helped fuel conflicts around the Middle East.
The heavy gates of the Iranian embassy’s compound were open in Riyadh with a team inspecting its premises, a Reuters reporter said. A white truck was seen arriving at the gate. The diplomatic mission opened hours after the Iranian foreign ministry said a technical delegation arrived in the kingdom.
“The Iranian delegation will take the necessary measures in Riyadh and Jeddah to set up the embassy and consulate general,” Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, Nasser Kanaani, said in a statement.
The mission had been closed since Riyadh cut ties with Iran in 2016, after its embassy in Tehran was stormed during a dispute between the two countries over Riyadh’s execution of a Shi’ite cleric.
Meanwhile, Syria’s Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad arrived in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, state media said, in a major signal that Syria’s decade-long regional isolation is nearing an end.
Mekdad landed in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah following an invitation from his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, the Saudi foreign ministry said. It is the first visit by a senior Syrian diplomat to the kingdom in more than a decade.