SAUDI ARABIA Beijing celebrates the “Iranian-Saudi pax”, strategic for Riyadh in terms of security

The meeting of foreign ministers of the Islamic Republic and the Wahhabi kingdom was held in the Chinese capital today. A meeting focused on cooperation and security, direct flights and visas (also for pilgrims). At the end, a joint note: the objective is “to help create security, stability and prosperity in the region.”

Beijing () – For the first time since 2016, when the deep rupture that for years interrupted relations between the two rival Sunni and Shiite powers occurred, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran met today in Beijing, an actor increasingly important in diplomacy in the Middle East area. A short video broadcast by the Saudi channel al-EkhbariyaTV and Iranian state television showed Prince Faisal bin Farhan al Saud and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian exchanging warm greetings (pictured). This is a significant new step forward after last month’s talks sanctioned the restoration of diplomatic relations.

In the past, attempts had already been made to restore relations between the two parties, which ended several times in a standstill. The turning point came last month, thanks in part to Chinese mediation, when both nations announced the reopening of their respective embassies “within two months.” The revival of trade and the exchange of security information is also being studied, an issue that Riyadh holds dear and one of the main reasons that prompted the Wahhabi kingdom to negotiate with the Islamic Republic (see Houthi attacks from Yemen against Saudi refineries). Added to this are direct air connections and the issuance of visas, an issue that is not minor because it also includes the issue of pilgrimages to the holy places of Islam.

The United States has cautiously welcomed the announcement of the revival of relations and today’s meeting in Beijing, as Washington is seeing its sphere of influence in the Middle East gradually shrinking. The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, turned his gaze to China, thanking him for mediating between the parties and unblocking the situation.

At the end of the meeting, the parties issued a joint note in which they stated that the normalization of relations will be functional to greater “security and stability” in the Middle East. “The two sides,” the statement said, “stressed the importance of following up on the implementation of the Beijing agreement and its activation to expand mutual trust and areas of cooperation.” The objective, the note concludes, is “to help create security, stability and prosperity in the region.”

Tehran and Riyadh broke relations in 2016 after the assault on the Saudi consulate in Iran in response to the execution of Shiite leader Nimr al-Nimr. A controversy that triggered regional repercussions, including the economic, diplomatic and commercial isolation of Qatar -which was later interrupted-, which was considered for a long time too close to Tehran. The two powers, the reference point for Shiite and Sunni Islam, are in opposite positions on many issues, from Yemen to Syria, from Iraq to Lebanon.

However, in April two years ago, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (Mbs) took a sharp turn by declaring that he wanted to maintain good relations with Tehran in order to achieve regional détente. A change of course also brought about by the change of administration in Washington, with the transition from the “maximum pressure” of Republican Donald Trump to Joe Biden’s attempt to reactivate the nuclear agreement that former Democratic president Barack Obama so desired.