Turkey: Iran-Saudi Deal Will Strengthen Muslims

Date: 18 March 2023 - 21:59

News ID: ۱۱۳۵۳۷

TEHRAN -- The Turkish foreign minister says he is confident a recent deal signed between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore relations after seven years of estrangement will strengthen the Muslim world and boost synergy among Muslim states to help resolve regional issues.
In a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian, Mevlut Cavusoglu said Turkey welcomes the China-brokered agreement between Tehran and Riyadh.
The top Iranian diplomat, for his part, said positive interaction among the neighboring and regional countries would prepare the ground for the development of peace and security in the region as well as synergy in the international scene.
After several days of intensive negotiations hosted by China, Iran and Saudi Arabia finally clinched a deal on March 10 to restore diplomatic relations and re-open embassies and missions within two months.
According to a joint statement, Iran and Saudi Arabia underscored the need to respect the national sovereignty and refrain from interfering in the internal affairs of one another.
Iran, Saudi Arabia and China expressed their firm determination to make their utmost efforts to promote regional and international peace and security, it emphasized.
The top Iranian and Turkish diplomats also exchanged views about the expansion of relations and issues of common interests in regional fields.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said the Iran-Saudi rapprochement amounts to “a substantial change in the strategic situation in the Middle East.”
The Saudi-Iranian deal would complicate matters for the occupying regime of Israel, said the Nixon-era top diplomat.
This is due to the fact that the occupying regime will no longer be able to try pressuring Iran as easily as it used to before the agreement was signed, he wrote in the Washington Post.
From now on, Israel would have to “take into account Chinese interests”

if it wanted to keep “pressure on Iran,” Kissinger added.

The deal also amounted to a major step by Beijing in its efforts to have a say in shaping the “world order.”

“China has in recent years declared that it needs to be a participant in the creation of the world order. It has now made a significant move in that direction” by mediating the agreement, Kissinger said.

The Washington Post said the U.S. is no longer the “indispensable power” in the Middle East.