CNN
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Saudi Protection Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud arrived in Tehran on Thursday, in a uncommon go to by a senior Saudi royal to the Islamic Republic.
Prince Khalid met Main Normal Mohammad Bagheri, chief of employees of Iran’s Armed Forces, Iranian news outlet ISNA reported, including that “growing protection relations and regional cooperation to strengthen peace and stability within the area, in addition to combating terrorism, are among the many subjects of dialogue between the 2 senior protection officers.”
It has been a long time since a senior Saudi royal final visited Iran: King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz did so in 1997, when reformist President Mohammad Khatami was in workplace. Prince Khalid is the son of Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz.
The Saudi-Iranian assembly comes as Tehran engages in talks with america to succeed in a brand new nuclear settlement, amid threats by the US and Israel to strike Iran’s nuclear amenities if negotiations fail. Iran has warned that any assault on its territory may ignite a broader regional struggle. The US maintains a army presence in Saudi Arabia and different Gulf Arab states neighboring Iran.
The 2 officers “will maintain a variety of conferences to debate bilateral relations and problems with widespread curiosity,” state-run Saudi Press Company said forward of the assembly.
Bagheri can also be a army officer in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Crops (IRGC), which is designated as a terrorist group by Saudi Arabia.
Riyadh severed ties with Tehran in 2016 after Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy within the Iranian capital following the execution of a Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia. They then spent years combating a proxy struggle that has embroiled a variety of neighboring nations, particularly Yemen.
In Yemen, the 2 nations had supported reverse sides of a civil struggle, which led to Iran-backed Houthi rebels firing missiles at each Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, concentrating on oil infrastructure that’s important to their economies.
Ties started to thaw two years in the past, and each states ultimately signed a landmark normalization deal brokered by China.
Saudi Arabia, together with different Gulf Arab states, have been cautious of getting embroiled in Iran’s battle with Israel and america.
Final 12 months, after Iran exchanged strikes with Israel, Gulf Arab states expressed concern to the US a couple of potential assault by Israel on Iranian oil amenities, which may create financial and environmental impacts for your complete area. Iran publicly warned that any events seen as aiding Israel could be handled as aggressors.
Sources aware of matter informed CNN on the time that Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar had informed each the US and Iran that they might not permit Israel to make use of their airspace to strike Iran.
In October, Saudi Arabia and Iran performed their first ever joint naval train within the Gulf of Oman, in accordance with Iranian media, and in November, the chief of employees of Saudi Arabia’s armed forces, Fayyad al-Ruwaili, visited Tehran to satisfy together with his Iranian counterpart, state media reported.
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