The Chinese president last year offered the Saudi crown prince to serve as a
"bridge"
between Saudi Arabia and Iran, facilitating talks that resulted in the restoration of diplomatic ties between the two countries, according to a Saudi official.
Xi Jinping approached Prince Mohammed bin Salman about Iran during his visit to the kingdom in December, a Saudi official who spoke on condition of anonymity of the surprise agreement between Riyadh and Tehran said on Wednesday. announced Friday in Beijing.
The Chinese leader
“expressed his wish to see China serve as a bridge between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince, welcomed it,”
he said.
The agreement between the two rival powers provides for the mutual reopening of embassies within two months, after a seven-year break, as well as a commitment by each to respect the sovereignty of the other and not to interfere in its
"Internal Affairs".
“For Iran in particular, China is the first or second international partner.
His influence is important in this regard and there can be no
other mediator with the same weight, the official said.
"Two Superpowers"
According to him, several meetings helped prepare the ground, including a brief exchange between the heads of Saudi and Iranian diplomacy during a regional summit in Jordan at the end of December, a meeting between the Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Vice-President Iranian President during the Brazilian President's inauguration in January and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi's visit to Beijing in February.
China
"is a major player in the security and stability of the Gulf",
he insisted.
Its involvement in the region has however raised questions, Ryad being considered a historic partner of Washington, despite growing tensions around human rights or energy policy.
"Both the United States and China are very important partners
," the Saudi official said, adding that his country does not want
"to be part of any competition or dispute between the two superpowers."
US officials were briefed before the Saudi delegation visited Beijing and before the deal was announced, he said.
Talks in Beijing featured
'five very in-depth sessions'
on thorny issues, including the war in Yemen.
The capture of the Yemeni capital Sanaa in 2014 by Houthi rebels, close to Iran, led to an intervention the following year by neighboring Saudi Arabia, at the head of a military coalition supporting government forces.
The Saudi official claimed that the talks resulted in
"concrete commitments"
on Yemen, without elaborating.
"Private investment"
“Iran is the main supplier of weapons, training programs and propaganda expertise to the Houthis, and we are the main victim of these missiles, drones and the like. So Iran can do a lot, and should do a lot
,” he said, adding that Iran must stop
“supplying weapons to the Houthis.”
The Saudi official confirmed that Riyadh had started "indirect"
talks
with Yemeni rebels aimed at reviving the truce that expired in October and fostering a political settlement involving all Yemeni factions.
Saudi will not tolerate any threats on its long border with Yemen, Saudi official stresses, hoping Iran will play
'a major role'
at this level.
The two sides also renewed in Beijing their commitment not to attack each other through the media, he continued, specifying however that Saudi Arabia did not control Iran International TV.
This Persian-language channel, which recently moved from London to Washington, is considered a
"terrorist organization"
by Tehran, which has accused Saudi Arabia of financing it.
“We continue to assert that this is not a Saudi media outlet and has nothing to do with Saudi Arabia.
This is a private investment
,” the Saudi official said.
A meeting between the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers is scheduled but no date has been set, he added.