SAUDI OFFICIAL VISITS IRAN AS NATIONS AIM TO RESTORE TIES

Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister arrived in Iran’s capital on Saturday, the latest step in the restoration of diplomatic ties between the two Mideast rivals, Iranian state media reported.

Prince Faisal bin Farhan was officially welcomed by his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, Iran TV said. He carried a message from the Saudi king to Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and the two were scheduled to meet, Iran TV said.

Later, Prince Faisal said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and King Salman officially invited Raisi to visit Saudi Arabia, according to the state TV broadcast of a joint news conference.

The visit comes after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Saudi Arabia earlier in June. In March, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to re-establish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions. The move sent shock waves through the Middle East, especially Israel, Iran’s arch-enemy.

Both nations reopened their diplomatic missions in recent weeks.

The agreement to re-establish diplomatic relations was a major breakthrough brokered by China that lowered the chances of further conflict between Riyadh and Tehran — both directly and in proxy conflicts around the region.

Amirabdollahian said at a joint news conference that the two sides discussed cooperating on regional security and other topics.

“We voiced our concern about the continuation of war in Sudan and discussed some regional and international topics of interest,” he said.

Raisi, in a meeting with Farhan, the Saudi foreign minister, welcomed the establishment of relations between Tehran and Riyadh, according to the president’s website. He said the only enemy of Muslims is the “Zionist regime,” referring to Israel.

Israel and Iran are archenemies and Raisi said the normalization of relations with Israel by some countries is not only a security issue but also against the Islamic community’s wishes.