RIYADH (Dispatches) – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived in the Saudi capital on Wednesday, Saudi state media reported, for what his office said would be talks on efforts to end Israeli military aggression in Gaza and Lebanon.
The Saudi Al-Ekhbariya channel broadcast footage of Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan greeting Araghchi and his delegation in Riyadh.
Earlier on Wednesday Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on X that Araghchi’s visit would focus on stopping “the Israeli regime’s genocide & aggression” and aimed to “alleviate the pain and suffering of our brothers and sisters in Gaza and Lebanon”.
The official IRNA news agency said Araghchi would “discuss important issues in the region that include supporting the people of Palestine and Lebanon, and stopping the aggression against Palestine and Lebanon,” as well as sending urgent humanitarian aid to both countries.
He and the Saudi foreign minister would discuss “fraternal relations” and co-operation in “various political, economic, cultural, social and political fields,” IRNA added.
The occupying regime of Israel has been waging a year-long war on Gaza that has martyred some 42,000 people, mostly women and children, and left the besieged enclave in ruins. 
Hezbollah began firing on northern Israeli occupied territories in the wake of the invasion, and since last month Israel has significantly ramped up its strikes targeting Lebanon.
Both Hamas and Hezbollah are part of the “Axis of Resistance” of fighters in the region.
Araghchi’s visit to Saudi Arabia comes as the region watches with concern the Zionist regime’s threats against Iran which hit military and intelligence bases in the Tel Aviv area last week with ballistic missiles in response to the assassination of Hezbollah and Hamas leaders and an IRGC commander. 
Baghaei said the meetings in Riyadh were “in furtherance of our diplomatic efforts, in coordination with countries of the region”.
“Iran is determined to keep consolidating its relations with its neighbors in pursuit of sustainable security and stability as well as economic co-operation that would benefit all nations of the region,” Baghaei said.
The spokesman said later in the day that Araghchi held constructive discussions with his Saudi counterpart.
“Both sides called for an immediate cessation of hostilities against Gaza and Lebanon and for humanitarian aid to be delivered to the displaced as quickly as possible,” he wrote in a post on X.
“The two ministers also reviewed the current status of bilateral relations and emphasized their shared commitment to strengthening cooperation in various political, security, and economic areas.”

In Beirut on Friday, Araghchi said Tehran supports efforts for a “simultaneous” ceasefire in Lebanon and the Palestinian territory.
The Islamic republic called Hamas’s October 7, 2023 operation inside the Israeli occupied territories “a turning point in the history of the legitimate struggle of the Palestinian people against Israel”.
Iran has repeatedly condemned Israel’s genocide and war crimes since its war on Gaza began.
Iran and Saudi Arabia resumed relations in March 2023 under a surprise China-brokered deal following a seven-year rupture.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter and custodian of Islam’s two holiest sites, paused U.S.-brokered talks on recognizing Israel after the Gaza war broke out.
Last month, the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman, toughened his tone, explicitly saying that an “independent Palestinian state” is necessary.
Since the March 2023 Iranian-Saudi rapprochement was announced, the regional powers have intensified their contacts despite supporting different camps in several conflicts, most notably in Syria and Yemen.
The two exchanged ambassadors and visits of foreign ministers before the late Ebrahim Raisi made the first visit by an Iranian president to the kingdom in 20 years to attend a joint Arab-Islamic summit to discuss the war in Gaza last November.
In August Ali Bagheri, then Iran’s acting foreign minister, visited Jeddah for an extraordinary session of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi coastal city of Jeddah.
Araghchi assumed the post of Iranian foreign minister later in August.