An Iranian delegation will visit Saudi Arabia by Friday to start the process of reopening Tehran's diplomatic missions, according to a senior Iranian diplomat.
This announcement comes the day after the arrival in Tehran of a diplomatic delegation from Riyadh for a similar mission, two days after a historic meeting in Beijing between the heads of diplomacy of the two countries.
"
We are planning the departure of two delegations for Saudi Arabia by the end of the week [Friday according to the Iranian calendar, editor's note], one for Jeddah and the other for Riyadh in order to prepare for the restoration" of
relations bilateral relations,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Deputy Alireza Enyati told state television.
The agreement reached in Beijing between Tehran and Ryad should allow the two countries to reopen their embassies by mid-May and to implement economic and security cooperation agreements signed more than 20 years ago.
Their rapprochement should be formally celebrated during a visit by Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi to Riyadh, at the invitation of King Salman of Saudi Arabia, a trip planned after Ramadan, at the end of April.
