Saudi Crown Prince calls up Iranian Interim President, in further thawing of ties

Tehran, May 25 Marking a further thaw in relations, Iran’s interim president Mohammad Mokhber received a phone call from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman offering condolences on the tragic death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a chopper crash and underlining that the cordial relations between Tehran and Riyadh will continue.
“The incident was very painful for us. The loss of Mr. Raisi hurt all of us, and the loss of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, who was very friendly with our Minister of Foreign Affairs, was also sorrowful,” the Saudi crown prince was quoted by Iranian media as telling Mokhber on Friday.
Emphasizing the importance of the development of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia for the Middle Eastern region and the Islamic world, bin Salman said that “Tehran and Riyadh play a pivotal role in the region and the Islamic world, and by expanding relations between them, they can create a bright future for the region.”
Bin Salman stressed that Saudi Arabia will continue the path of developing relations with Iran, a goal that he described as being pursued by President Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian.
He also announced his country’s readiness to expand economic relations with Iran.
Mokhber, in turn, considered the development of relations with neighbours and friendly countries among the successes and important strategies of late President Raisi.
The interim president termed the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia key for the Islamic world, adding that, “Despite the opposition of some powers, today our relations have reached a good level and the region is in dire need of expanding these relations.”
He also noted that the two countries need to increase economic interactions and remove obstacles, especially for the private sectors of the two countries, and meet the mutual needs of each other.
Mokhber invited the Saudi crown prince to pay a visit to Iran. Bin Salman accepted the invitation and extended an invitation for Mokhber to visit Saudi Arabia.
The two countries had been bitter rivals for decades, but their relationship began to thaw since they signed a Chinese-mediated agreement to resume diplomatic ties in Beijing in March 2023. Their bitter standoff has shaped events and attitudes across the Middle East for more than 40 years.
The two countries completely severed diplomatic ties after Sunni Muslim-ruled Saudi Arabia executed a prominent Shiite Muslim cleric in 2016. Iran’s ruling clerics, and most of its population, are Shiite.
The two nations’ animosity exploded into “proxy wars” in several countries across the region, including Yemen. The Saudi-led intervention in Yemen in 2015 has been one of the main focuses of conflict between the two sides, as Iran has backed the Houthi rebels.
However, following the March 2023 deal, Saudi Arabia has pushed for peace in Yemen by holding direct talks with Houthi leaders. Riyadh also championed the return of Syria, a key Iran ally, to the Arab fold at a summit in May 2023.
The Saudi Crown Prince had met then Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian in August 2023 in the highest-level talks since the countries reconciled in March after years of bitter rivalry that destabilised the region.