TEHRAN -- Saudi Arabia’s
Ambassador to Tehran Abdullah bin Saud al-Anzi on Sunday submitted a copy of his credentials to Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian, cementing a restoration of ties between the two countries after a seven-year rupture in ties.
Saudi Arabia’s first ambassador to Iran since the resumption of diplomatic relations arrived in Tehran on Tuesday.
A Saudi Foreign Ministry statement quoted Anzi as saying that the country’s leadership recognizes the “importance of strengthening ties, increasing engagement… and taking the (relationship) to broader horizons.”
Iran’s new Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Alireza Enayati arrived in Riyadh on Tuesday to start his highly-anticipated diplomatic mission. He was welcomed by the officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia and his colleagues at the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Back in March, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to a Chinese-brokered deal to revive relations after the ties were severed in 2016.
Iran officially reopened its embassy in Riyadh in June, followed by its consulate in Jeddah and its representative office with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
The Saudi embassy in Tehran and its consulate in Mashhad have also resumed operations.
Last month, Amir-Abdollahian visited Saudi Arabia, where he held “frank and fruitful” talks with Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman.
Meanwhile, a delegation representing Saudi Arabia is to take part in the International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms, which is being held in the Iranian capital.
The announcement was made by Iran’s embassy in Saudi Arabia through a Saturday post on X social media platform, formerly known as Twitter.
“Following normalization of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, a Saudi delegation set off for Tehran today, Saturday,” September 9, “to take part in the International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms,” the embassy said.
It added that an Iranian delegation from the country’s Ministry of Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts will also travel to Riyadh on Sunday to take part in the 45th meeting of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)’s World Heritage Committee.
The International Conference on Combating Sand and Dust Storms was inaugurated in Tehran on Saturday and will wrap up on Sunday.
Addressing the conference earlier on Saturday, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi expressed hope that the event will provide the necessary ground “for common thinking and common planning on the important issue of environmental protection.”
“Today, protection of the environment is a general issue and concern and is not simply related to a specific country and region, and the threats caused by environmental damage for human life and food security have made all countries and concerned people think and cooperate in this regard,” the Iranian president said.
Raisi described the presence of nearly 50 countries and 15 international organizations in this event as the sign of a common feeling for protection of the environment, adding, “Protection of the environment must not be influenced by political issues and usual diplomatic compliments, and the decisions made in this field must be considered and followed up as an important issue.”
He mentioned “using the capacities of scientific and research centers,” “creating a special fund” and “preparing cultural and media annexes” for development projects as Iran’s three proposals for dealing effectively with sand and dust storms.