An Iranian diplomatic mission to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has opened its offices in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, six years after relations between the two regional rivals broke down in 2016, Iranian authorities announced on Monday (January 17th). .
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The delegation, which is currently in Jeddah, will begin its work at the OIC, which could be a prelude
" to the reopening of their embassies, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Said Khatibzadeh said. during its weekly press conference, without specifying the date of the opening of the offices. The Sunni Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Shiite Islamic Republic of Iran severed ties in January 2016 following Riyadh's execution of an influential Shiite religious opponent. But the two countries, which accuse each other of destabilizing the Middle East, have nevertheless expressed their desire to overcome their differences and have begun negotiations in recent months.
On December 23, representatives of the two countries' foreign ministries said that three Iranian diplomats had obtained visas to serve on the OIC, based in Jeddah, the major port city in western Saudi Arabia.
The head of Iranian diplomacy then praised the mediation efforts of its neighbor Iraq to try to contribute to improving ties between Tehran and Ryad.
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Four rounds of negotiations took place in Baghdad between the two rival countries which oppose each other on most regional issues, such as Yemen.
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The focus is on the start of the work of the Iranian delegation in Jeddah.
Our diplomats have received visas to assess
“the situation, said Saïd Khatibzadeh on Monday.
Based in Jeddah, the OIC was created in 1969 and has 57 member countries.
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